SOCCER: Oct. 9 Scoreboard
Southeastern Louisiana 3, Lamar 2
McNeese State 3, Nicholls 2
Northwestern State 2, Sam Houston State 1 (2OT)
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1, UIW 0
Abilene Christian 3, Houston Baptist 0
Stephen F. Austin 1, Central Arkansas 1 (2OT)
Southeastern Louisiana 3, Lamar 2
HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern scored three first-half goals, then was able to make them stand in holding off Lamar late in a 3-2 Southland Conference women's soccer victory at Strawberry Stadium Friday night.
Junior forward
Bri Singh scored just a minute, 45 seconds into the match and senior
Gisenia Utreras added a pair of goals in the first half for the Lady Lions (9-3-1, 4-2) who bounced back from a pair of conference road losses last weekend.
Freshman forward Jordan Mulnix scored twice in the second half for Lamar (6-9-0, 2-4) which dropped its fourth straight.
Singh scored off a feed from senior
Kayla Vera for her fourth goal of the season 1:45 into the match for a 1-0 lead. The assist was the second of the season for Vera.
After a shot by senior
Maddie Allen hit the crossbar at the 4:40 mark, Utreras knocked in her ninth goal of the season off a pass from Singh to give the Lady Lions a 2-0 lead at the 13:37 mark of the half.
Singh re-directed a pass from junior
Lauren Lorentz to Utreras and the senior capitalized on it for her team-high 10
th goal to increase the Lady Lion lead to 3-0 at the 38:34 mark. It was the third assist of the season for Singh and the first for Lorentz.
Lamar got on the board at the 62:02 mark when Mulnix knocked in a pass from Mari Olastuen for her eighth goal of the season.
Allen came up with a key defensive play late, deflecting a shot when a Lamar attacker got past junior keeper
Hope Sabadash.
Mulnix scored again off an assist by Megan Campbell at the 86:58 mark to make it 3-2 but Southeastern was able to maintain possession in the Lamar zone for most of the final three minutes.
Sabadash made four saves while Lauren Lovejoy came up with 10 for Lamar.
Hornbuckle pointed out the play of freshman midfielder
Elizabeth McMurray as a catalyst for the win.
Southeastern will be on the road in conference play next weekend, visiting Sam Houston State Friday at 7 p.m. and Stephen F. Austin on Sunday at 1 p.m., so a win Friday was critical in the Lady Lions staying in the hunt in the SLC.
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McNeese State 3, Nicholls 2
LAKE CHARLES, La. – Freshman striker Nola Prickett’s goal with under six minutes remaining in the match lifted the McNeese State women’s soccer team to a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Nicholls in one of the most bizarre and competitive matches in the history of the series.
The victory broke a string of two consecutive losses and four straight overtime contests for McNeese (5-7, 2-4 SLC) who needed a win Friday to keep its postseason hopes alive.
After scoring in the opening minutes of the match, the Cowgirls squandered their lead to Nicholls (3-8-1, 1-5 SLC) who held a 2-1 advantage over its opponent headed into the half.
Most of the second half consisted of a battle between the two squads who traded possession but were unable to get anything going offensively. McNeese was preparing for another overtime battle until a costly mistake from their opposition enabled the Cowgirls to take advantage.
It seemed as though McNeese had been cursed once again as it had in its previous three contests that resulted in overtime losses until a bizarre series of events led to an equalizer goal provided by junior Kayla Goedicke. The Nicholls keeper picked up the ball by accident during play giving Goedicke an opportunity to shoe the ball in from about ten feet out to tie the game at 2-2. Junior Bettina Brulhart was given the assist on the play.
In the 84th minute, Prickett took advantage of a distraught Colonels team that had just surrendered a one goal lead minutes earlier and was able to tip in her second game-winning shot of the season past the Nicholls goalkeeper. McNeese then held on over the final six minutes and celebrated the victory with relief of having finally overcome adversity. Sophomore Gabi D’Alesandro, who exited the game with two assists, assisted Prickett’s winner. She now has four total on the year.
The Cowgirls took a one-goal lead just two minutes into the match as Goedicke tallied her first of two netters in the game. Goedicke tapped in the shot off of a cross from D’Alesandro to go up.
Nicholls answered in the 13th minute with tie the ballgame up at 1-1 before taking a lead that would hold for the next 51 minutes.
Senior defender Sarah Bricker made history during the match becoming the all-time leader in minutes played. Since joining the team in 2012, Bricker has played a total of 6,195 minutes on the pitch, surpassing Erin Leighton for the top spot.
Senior goalkeeper Maggie Marks was excellent in the goal Friday evening as she came up with four big saves that attributed to McNeese’s rally over the Colonels. Marks now has 25 saves in six appearances this season.
Both teams took an even number of shot attempts with 12 apiece while McNeese held the advantage in corner kicks, 4-3.
The Cowgirls will return home for two Southland Conference matches next weekend when they play host to Incarnate Word on Oct. 16 and Abilene Christian on Oct. 18.
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Northwestern State 2, Sam Houston State 1 (2OT)
NATCHITOCHES, La. -- Northwestern stared yet another tie -- what would been its fourth of the season -- in the face as time slipped away Friday against Sam Houston State.
But with 10 seconds left in double overtime, sophomore forward Esdeina Gonzalez fended off a draping defender and punched a shot in from close range for the 2-1 win. Freshman forward Jacqueline Manza provided her first assist of the season when fired a pass across the field to the far post and a waiting Gonzalez.
NSU's offense, who has outshot the majority of Southland Conference opponents this season, finally erupted for the Lady Demons (4-7-3, 1-3-2 SLC) first conference win, which in turn caused an emotional explosion on NSU's sideline.
NSU saved its season with the win, keeping the Lady Demons alive but still far behind in the Southland Conference tournament race. NSU entered the match last in the 12-team league with only six squads making the postseason.
But a smiling George Van Linder said his bunch needed a win in this manner badly, adding he's always had confidence in this young bunch to perform.
NSU's defense, playing without junior defender Patry Carrion (hamstring), held up against 17 SHSU shots (nine on goal).
Sophomore goalkeeper Alex Latham, playing her second full match after splitting time with Brooke Bourbonais, made seven saves in her first win of the season.
Latham made several diving saves on SHSU breakaways, including one late in regulation and one in overtime.
NSU struck first in the 61st minute when senior Cassandra Briscoe took a Brittany Caserma through ball and buried it into the back of the net for her second goal this season.
Sam Houston answered just three minutes later when Allie Johnson stole a pass before finishing a shot in the middle of the goal. NSU attempted 23 shots with nine on goal.
Bearkats goalkeeper Kylie Hambleton made seven saves to lead a defense who had allowed just three goals in SHSU's first five conference matches.
Briscoe said NSU showed grit in responding to Sam Houston's quick answer.
The win ends a six-match winless streak in which NSU went 0-4-2. The Lady Demons' last win came September 8 against Alcorn State.
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Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1, UIW 0
Corpus Christi, Texas – After 11 starts and countless near misses, Nanna Poulsen recorded her first goal of the season on Friday night, as the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's soccer team overwhelmed Incarnate Word with constant pressure en route to a 1-0 victory at the Dugan Soccer Stadium for First Responders Night.
"I was really proud of how we played this evening," head coach Shanna Caldwell said. "We worked well up top to create the goal, and then used our experience from this season to play with the lead in the second half. For the second game in a row, we cut down on the mistakes and created opportunities on the offensive end.
Islanders goalkeeper Megan Delaney was called into action twice within the first ten minutes of the match, but then A&M-Corpus Christi turned to the attack. Emma Biba sent a shot just over the post in the 11th minute, as the Islanders pressured the Cardinals backline. A&M-Corpus Christi outshot Incarnate Word 9-6 in the first half, as the teams entered the break tied at 0-0.
The second half began with a flurry of attacks from the hosts. Audrey Kuhl put a shot on net in the 48th minute, after the Islanders forced the Cardinals to concede a corner.
One minute later, Kuhl intercepted a pass in the offensive third, before finding Poulsen with a piercing ball between the defense. The Danish international, alone on the breakaway, faked to her left before going around the keeper for a tap into the empty net to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead. The goal was her first of the season and second of her career.
12 minutes from time, Hailey Sutton dribbled past two Incarnate Word defenders to make her way into the penalty area. A Cardinal fullback made a desperation challenge on the Islanders leading scorer, dragging her down to cause a penalty kick. Sutton was unable to convert the spot kick when Cardinals goalkeeper Sydney Huntingser guessed the correct way to make the save.
In previous matches when A&M-Corpus Christi had the lead, the Islanders have relied upon their defense to withstand opposing attacks. Friday night proved to be a different story. Strong midfield play by Tatum Printy, Hannah Joseph and Biba interrupted Cardinals attacks, while Sutton, Kuhl and Poulsen put pressure on the Incarnate Word backline to force errors and ease the pressure on the Islanders defense.
Incarnate Word managed just two shots that were easy saves for Delaney in the final 10 minutes of the match. The Islanders closed out the game by forcing Cardinals forward Nikki Poppa into a desperation shot that floated harmlessly wide of the goal.
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Abilene Christian 3, Houston Baptist 0
HOUSTON, Texas – Abilene Christian soccer netted three second-half goals and survived multiple dangerous chances in defeating Houston Baptist 3-1 on the road Friday night at Sorrels Field to extend its winning streak to three and move into third place in the Southland Conference at 4-1-1.
The Wildcats’ winning streak is their longest against Southland opposition, and longest overall since capturing six-straight decisions between Sept. 5-22.
Goalkeeper Sydney Newton made four saves on seven shots faced during a scoreless first half, and in the second half she made two additional stops before surrendering a goal to potential first team all-conference honoree Sabriah Spencer with 1:56 left in regulation.
The goal was Spencer’s seventh of 2015 and ended ACU’s scoreless minute streak at 283:58, which was its longest since 2011 when the Wildcats recorded three consecutive shutouts on two different occasions. However, her goal arrived way too late in the game for the Huskies, who allowed three scores in less than a half hour between the 61st and 88th minutes.
Junior midfielder Maria Gomez scored her second goal in as many matches, finishing a pass from sophomore Chloe Fifer five seconds into the 61st minute and six minutes later junior transfer Danielle Otto punched in the game-winning PK, which was her first goal since arriving at ACU.
Late in the half, the Wildcats (5-7-2) received an insurance goal from freshman Dylan Owens off an assist from senior Lindsey Jones.
The goal was Owens’ third over the last five matches.
HBU’s Alanis Guevera allowed all three goals and was credited with four saves as ACU placed seven of 11 shots on net.
The Wildcats also surrendered a fair number of shots at 13 plus eight corner kicks, including five in the second half. HBU looked especially skilled off the corner last weekend, scoring three times in two matches against Southeastern Louisiana and Nicholls.
The Huskies' defeat tonight snapped a two-match winning streak and lowered their overall and conference records to 6-4-1 and 4-2.
ACU is off Sunday, but will return again this way next weekend with matches at Lamar and McNeese State.
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Stephen F. Austin 1, Central Arkansas 1 (2OT)
CONWAY, Ark. – The Stephen F. Austin women’s soccer team couldn’t put the finishing touches on a Friday night road victory at Bill Stephens Track/Soccer Complex, drawing level with Central Arkansas 1-1 after two overtime periods. The one point in the Southland Conference standings proved pivotal however, as the Ladyjacks tightened their hold on first place after Friday night’s results from around the league.
The Ladyjacks controlled the game throughout regulation and their pressure paid off in the 54th minute. After earning a free kick near midfield, Kelly Ann Craig drove a dangerous ball into the box forcing the UCA keeper, Anna Hughes, to come off her line. In a clearance attempt, Hughes punched the ball off one of her own defenders and the deflection bounced in for an own goal.
SFA took the 1-0 advantage into the late stages of the match, but the Bears found an equalizer with just over two minutes to play. Needing a goal to extend the match, UCA’s Stacia Carroll tried a shot from near midfield that skipped off the wet surface in the box and found its way to goal. The bad bounce knotted the game at 1-1, where the score stood through two 10-minute overtime periods.
The Ladyjacks finished the game with a season-high 30 shots, outshooting the Bears 30-20 overall and holding a 14-10 cushion in shots on goal. SFA came out of the halftime break with relentless pressure, earning a 9-1 shot advantage after the first 20 minutes.
After getting a boost in momentum with their late goal, the Bears controlled the first 10 minutes of added time, testing the SFA defense with an 8-1 shot surplus and a 6-1 count in corners. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper made some big saves in the frame to keep her team in the game. She finished with eight total saves on the night.
The second 10-minute overtime span was all SFA, as the Ladyjacks nearly netted the game-winner on several occasions. SFA got eight looks at goal while preventing UCA from a single attempt.
Sophomore forward Hanna Barker led the ‘Jacks with a career high 11 shots and eight shots on target. Craig, Ashton Norman, Madison Hall, Amanda Doyle and Crystal Calvit each tested the keeper one time to aid in the attack.
The Ladyjacks will return home to play two matches from the comforts of their home facilities next weekend, first hosting Nicholls on Friday night at 7 p.m. and then playing Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday at 1 p.m. The weekend homestand will be the final stint of the year at SFA Soccer Field. SFA’s four seniors will be honored prior to kick on Friday night.
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