FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 8 Arkansas (1-0-0) scored five minutes into the match and didn’t look back as the Hogs blanked Arkansas State 6-0 in their season opener.
All six goals were scored by different Razorbacks, including first-time scorer freshman Patricia Tsokos.
In goal, junior Sierra Cota-Yarde made her first start for the Hogs and also converted a penalty kick in the 54th minute. Cota-Yarde is no stranger to the task, having taken a penalty in two shootouts last season.
Arkansas’ first goal of the 2023 campaign was scored by sophomore forward Ainsley Erzen. Erzen started the match at midfielder and was there to pick up freshman Avery Wren’s shot that ricocheted off the post.
The Hogs were blessed with an own goal by Arkansas State in the 11th minute and went up 2-0.
The last two goals of the first half were scored within two minutes of each other. First up, veteran midfielder Bea Franklin scored in the 39th minute. The goal, made possible by a booming free kick from defender Emilee Hauser, is Franklin’s first scored with her feet as a Hog.
Tsokos followed up in the 41st minute with a textbook header on a ball from defender Margot Reemtsen to send the Razorbacks up 4-0 on 22 shots.
Senior forward Kiley Dulaney followed Cota-Yarde’s made PK and finished the night off with a gritty goal, in which she had to come face-to-face with the Red Wolves’ goalkeeper. Dulaney won the ball and knocked it in for her first goal back since missing the 2022 season due to injury.
Arkansas finished the match with 34 shots and held Arkansas State to seven.
“It’s early in the season, but there’s some details we need to clean up for sure,” head coach Colby Hale said. “But they are details, right? And those things will come. We’ve got a lot of young and new faces out there, and some of the sets aren’t super organized, so we’ve got to just clean some stuff up.”
Next Up
The Hogs will return to the pitch next week and face Oregon on Thursday, Aug. 24 at 6:30 p.m. The match will be streamed on SEC Network+.
For more information on Arkansas Soccer, follow @RazorbackSoccer on Twitter.
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