Northwestern State Shuts Out Southern
Northwestern State 4, Southern 0
NATCHITOCHES, La. - Northwestern State got into the win column for the first time this early season when it blanked Southern 4-0 in women's soccer action on Sunday afternoon.
Goals by Sarah Sadler, Kayla King, and Pippi Haase, helped bolt the Lady Demons out to a 3-0 halftime lead, then a penalty kick goal by Haley Cheshier late in the game closed out the scoring.
"Any time you win, it's a good thing," said Northwestern head coach Jimmy Mitchell. "Being 0-3, you want to try to hurry and get on the positive side of the win-loss column and glad we were able to do that.
"I thought we started the game off kind of slow, even though we scored three goals. We didn't move the ball fast enough but I thought as the game went on, we played much better."
Sadler netted her first goal of the season just 3:03 into the game when she took a corner kick pass from Marissa Lees and headed it into the net.
Sixteen minutes later, King took a cross pass from Lees in front of the net and drilled it for her first goal of the year and put Northwestern State up 2-0.
Haase's goal was the most impressive though as she took a pass near midfield, dribbled down the leftside of the field and floated a shot from about 30 feet that sailed over the Southern goalkeeper's head and into the net.
The final goal came when Ashlee Savona was tackled inside the box when attempting to make a shot. That put Cheshier at the spot for the penalty kick and she scored with ease to make it 4-0 with just under five minutes to play.
Northwestern outshot the Jaguars by a 28-0 margin as Southern rarely possessed the ball on its offensive end of the field.
"Our midfield did a great job by never allowing Southern's midfield to ever get the ball forward," said Mitchell. "And the few times that they did, our defense did a good job. It was a long ways from last weekend where we were really struggling back there. We've got a very hard working group of players, and it starts off with Sarah (Sadler) and (Rachel) O'Steen in the middle. It's hard to find two other players that work harder than them.
"I'm very proud of the team. We continue to get better every game."
The Lady Demons will continue their 7-game homestand on Friday when they host Louisiana-Lafayette at 7.
Southeastern Louisiana 5, Alabama State 0
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Southeastern Louisiana women's soccer team improved to 3-0 with a 5-0 non-conference victory over Alabama State Sunday afternoon at Hornet Stadium.
The Lady Lions have opened the season with three consecutive victories for the third time in school history. Southeastern has posted three shutouts to open the season for the first time since 2003.
Sophomore midfielder Kerry McWhirter led the offensive attack for the Lady Lions, finishing with one goal and three assists. The three-assist performance by the Olathe, Kan. native was the 12th in school history.
Senior midfielder Natalie Santana added a goal and an assist for Southeastern. Freshman Kelsey Salcido, freshman Cambri Prevost and sophomore Dana Songe all scored goals for the Lady Lions, while freshman Ann Stranges was credited with her first collegiate assist. Southeastern finished with a 24-2 shot advantage over the Hornets (0-3).
For the third straight match, junior goalkeeper Lacey Bockhaus was dominant for the Lady Lions. The San Leandro, Calif. native posted her 24th career shutout, matching the school record held by former Lady Lion Nicole Helmig. Bockhaus now needs two shutouts to become the Southland Conference career leader.
Southeastern head coach Blake Hornbuckle was eager to praise McWhirter and Bockhaus for their efforts.
"Kerry was extremely solid today for us, especially with her service," Hornbuckle commented. "Lacey made a nice save and did an excellent job keeping us organized in the back. We're pleased to be 3-0, but we need to continue to improve as we get closer to conference play."
Southeastern will be back in action on Sunday, Sept. 5, hosting Southern at 4 p.m. at the Southeastern Soccer Complex.
UTSA 2, Houston Baptist 1
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Junior Jodi Leroy and freshman Anka Grotle scored late second-half goals to help lead UTSA to a 2-1, come-from-behind victory against Houston Baptist in the home opener Sunday afternoon at the Recreational Sports Complex.
With the win, the Roadrunners improved to 3-1 for the best four-game start in school history. The Huskies fell to 1-2.
Trailing 1-0 with less than 20 minutes to play, UTSA turned up the offensive pressure. Freshman Maria Jose Rojas had a good look in the 75th minutes, but her shot hit the crossbar. Grotle grabbed the deflection and found Leroy, who fired a blast from about 25 yards out on the left side and into the back of the net for the equalizer.
With extra time seeming likely, UTSA mounted a late attack in the final two minutes. Two consecutive corner kicks came up empty, but the third time was the charm. Senior Chelsea Zimmerman sent the ball into the box and found Grotle near the top. The Flora, Norway, native put the ball past Houston Baptist keeper Shelby Horn with her right foot for the game winner with just 1:47 to play.
"The goal seemed small today, but we kept battling," head coach Steve Ballard said. "Even when we got down a goal, we never quit. That's a credit to the girls for overcoming adversity late in the match. It's always a good feeling to win your home opener and we were fortunate to do that today against a team that played very well."
Amina Radoncic broke the scoreless tie in the 66th minute. Amina Radoncic got off a shot on target that was stopped by freshman goalkeeper Danielle Snyder. She was unable to secure the ball, which was punched back into the goal by Kristina Burhans.
UTSA got off 31 shots, including 14 on goal, compared to just 10 shots (four on goal) by the Huskies. Sophomore Dacia Webb stopped a pair of shots in 57-plus minutes of work in the net to earn her first win of the season.
The Roadrunners return to action against Baylor on Friday, Sept. 3, in Waco, Texas.
Houston 6, McNeese State 0
LAKE CHARLES, La. -- McNeese State's soccer team fell 6-0 here today to the University of Houston. The loss drops the Cowgirls to 1-3-0 and Houston remained undefeated on the season at 3-0-0.
Houston took a 1-0 lead late in the first half on a unassisted goal by Samantha Sackos in the 42nd minute. The Cougars took that lead into the half.
The Cougars continued their momentum into the second half and scored two quick goals in the second half on a rebound off a deflection by McNeese goalie Cassandra Read's hands that allowed Melanie Adleman to score in the 46th minute for a 2-0 Houston lead. Less than three minutes later, Katelyn Rhodes scored off a header from inside the box in the 49th minute to put the Cougars up 3-0.
McNeese regrouped and settled down after giving up two quick back-to-back goals but was unable to stop the Houston scoring as the Cougars went on to scored three more goals to remain undefeated on the year.
Rebekah DeJonghe and Audrey LaLanne led the Cowgirls with two shots apiece and Read was credited with nine saves. Reserve goalie Katie Seeber was credited with two saves in fourteen minutes played.
McNeese State will be on the road this weekend when the Cowgirls travel to Arkansas-Little Rock Friday for a 7 p.m. game. McNeese State will conclude the road trip with a 1 p.m. game at Louisiana Tech Sunday. After a Sept. 10 game at Ole Miss, the Cowgirls will return home on Sunday, Sept. 12 to host UL-Monroe.
TCU 6, Sam Houston State 0
FORT WORTH, Texas - Kim Castleberry scored two goals to lead TCU to a 6-0 non-conference women's soccer victory over Sam Houston State Sunday afternoon at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium.
Castleberry scored her first goal just 4:16 into the contest. The Bearkats shut out the Horned Frogs the rest of the half. Five minutes into the second period, however, TCU scored again. The Frogs tallied four times in the final 30 minutes.
Katie Taylor, Kristen Barg, Alex Mechalske and Kaylie Garcia each added a goal for TCU.
The Horned Frogs totaled 39 shots. Sam Houston goalkeeper Jenny Pence was credited with 14 saves.
Kirby Zak took two of Sam Houston's five shots. Kelsi Brown, Adrianna Vasquez and Emily Jurecka each had a shot for the Bearkats as well.
The contest was a physical battle with TCU being called for fouls 15 times.
The victory evened the Horned Frogs season record at 2-2. Sam Houston State is 0-4 with all four losses coming on the road. The Bearkats finally get to play a home match Friday when they play host to North Texas. The contest is at 7 p.m. at Pritchett Field. Prior to the match, at 6 p.m., Sam Houston State Student-Activities will sponsor a special "Soccer Tailgate" with free McKenzie's Barbeque and Vitamin Water.
Fresno State 1, Texas State 0 (2OT)
EL PASO, Texas - Lauren Frazier recorded 10 saves to ward off a powerful Fresno State offense through regulation, but double overtime proved to be too much and the Bulldogs walked away with a 1-0 win Sunday afternoon at the 13th Annual UTEP Miners' Classic.
The Bobcats closed out the tournament with a 1-1 record on University Field and a 1-2 mark overall. Fresno State improved to 2-2 on the season after posting a perfect 2-0 record in El Paso.
The Bulldogs held a 22-5 shot advantage over Texas State, attempting 10 shots in each half of regulation. The Bobcats were held to only one shot in the first period and broke loose for three attempts in the second half. Sydney Curry launched the only shot on goal in the 44th minute, but it was turned away by goalkeeper Kaitlyn Revel.
After a scoreless first overtime period, the 115th minute proved to be the breakthrough moment for Fresno State. Janna Sadowitz scored her first goal of the season off an assist from Nicole Duff and Bradlee DeShane that sealed the game.
Texas State will return to the field Friday, Sept. 3 in their home opener at the Bobcat Soccer Complex. The Bobcats will host UC Riverside at 7 p.m.
Oklahoma 2, Stephen F. Austin 1
NORMAN, Okla. - Fresh off a big win over Arkansas, Stephen F. Austin made a bid for an upset Sunday night at Oklahoma. The Ladyjacks got a game-tying goal from Kim Kimmel early in the second half, but the Sooners answered and were able to hold on for a 2-1 verdict at John Crain Field.
The loss moves Stephen F. Austin to 2-2-0 on the season, while Oklahoma improves to 2-1-0.
"The team competed at a high level again tonight," Stephen F. Austin head coach Tony Amato said.
Oklahoma led, 5-2, in shots through the first 30 minutes, but the Sooners didn't register a shot on goal until Annalisa Hall found the net with a near-post goal in the 32nd minute. Whitney Palmer assisted on the play.
Laura Sadler fired a shot on goal for Stephen F. Austin in the eighth minute, but Sooner goalkeeper Kelsey Devonshire was there for the save. The Ladyjacks registered two more shots later in the period but went to halftime down, 1-0.
Stephen F. Austin didn't wait long after the break to go on the attack. Kimmel's equalizer came less than a minute into the second half of play. Kylie Louw played a through ball ahead for Kimmel, who raced into the Oklahoma backfield. With a defender on her back and Devonshire coming out to challenge, Kimmel chipped a shot up and in to tie the count at the 45:44 mark. It was her second goal of the season.
The score stayed tied through the next 18 minutes, but Caitlin Mooney's game-winner found the net off a throw-in in the 63rd minute.
Oklahoma went after some insurance with three shots on goal over the next 10 minutes, but Stephen F. Austin goalkeeper Courtney Bauder turned away each attempt. She finished with a season-high six saves.
Sadler recorded two shots in the game, both on goal. Louw, Megan Wasiak, Janae Lee and Brenda Salazar joined Kimmel with one shot apiece.
"We obviously play to win every game, so the girls were upset with the result," Amato said. "We will look to clean up a few things this week and improve for Friday at home."
The Ladyjacks will play at home twice next weekend. Stephen F. Austin entertains UTEP Friday in a 7 p.m. match-up before taking on Louisiana-Lafayette Sunday at 1 p.m.
Louisiana-Lafayette 2, Lamar 1
LAFAYETTE, La. - Senior Kari Busch scored Lamar's first goal of the season, but it wasn't enough for the Lamar Lady Cardinals as they dropped a 2-1 decision to host Louisiana-Lafayette in a non-conference women's soccer game Sunday afternoon.
Busch deposited a rebound of an Angie Guillory shot past Ragin' Cajuns' goalkeeper Amanda Moorefield with 21:09 remaining in the second half to cut the Lamar deficit to 2-1, but the Lady Cardinals never managed to notch the equalizer. It was Busch's first career goal.
Louisiana-Lafayette (3-1-0) scored its two goals in the first half. Jordan Blevins beat Lamar goalkeeper Jennifer Gibbs from in close with 24:20 remaining in the opening period. Gayla Foster made it 2-0 with 3:23 remaining in the half when she scored on her own rebound after Gibbs stoned her initially with a point-blank save.
Gibbs made six saves on the day for Lamar (0-2-0).
The Lady Cardinals return home for a pair of games next weekend. Lamar hosts UT-Brownsville at 7 p.m. Friday and Prairie View A&M at 2 p.m. Sunday.