DANVILLE, Va. – The Averett University women's soccer team dropped its conference opener 1-0 in a hard fought battle with Methodist University on Friday afternoon.

Averett (0-3-1, 0-1-0 USA South) came out aggressive in the first half, attacking the goal with six shots in the period. With a scoreless game at halftime, Methodist (3-2-0, 1-0-0 USA South) netted a goal off a header from Amanda Hayes inside the box in the 55th minute to gain a 1-0 lead.

After a nine-day break, Averett displayed its ability to move the ball successfully up the field to get in good range for open looks at the net. The Cougars had a chance to tie the game in the 82nd minute on a great pass from the left off the foot of freshman forward Skye Gunn to the center of the box, but the shot afterwards flew to the right and out-of-bounds.

Despite the loss, the Cougars showed plenty of fundamental improvement on the field from its first game this season, and much of that has come from changes that head coach Sarah Chapman has made for her squad.

"I changed the formation, and I think it's done wonders for them," Chapman said. "I'm trying to get them to play the game properly."