HUNTSVILLE, Ala. –  Sophomore midfielder Lydia Sutcliffe broke open a scoreless game late in the contest as she knocked in a goal at the 83-minute mark to lift the University of West Alabama women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory against Alabama-Huntsville on Sunday.
 
The Tigers, now just a game and a half  back of No. 4 West Florida in the Gulf South Conference standings, improve to 6-3-2 overall and 4-1-1 in the GSC race heading into Friday's match against the Argos.
 
West Alabama also runs its undefeated streak to six games with the squad's last loss coming on Sept. 14. During the current streak, the Tigers have tied twice and won three conference games.   
 
In a stalemate for the first 80 minutes of action on Sunday, UWA played stiff defense, allowing just one UAH shot on goal the entire match. Meanwhile, West Alabama totaled 16 total shots and 10 shots on goal – four coming from sophomore forward Nicki Gears.
 
The Tigers played a relatively clean contest with just three fouls committed, while the Chargers were issued two yellow cards and committed a total of 10 fouls on the afternoon.
 
Sutcliffe's goal at 83:17, which came off a deflection from UAH goalkeeper Iras Gunnarsdottir, was surprisingly her first shot of the game and is now her eighth goal scored on the season.
 
With close to a week off, the Tigers travel to Pensacola, Fla., on Friday to take on the Argos at 5 p.m.