The soccer team was knocked out of Southland Conference title contention this weekend despite going 1-1 over the weekend.
The Wildcats would lose in a close match to SFA Friday by a score of 3-2, but came back on Sunday to beat Sam Houston 2-0.
“SFA was definitely a tough loss, but it was one of the best games we have played collectively as a team,” said senior forward Natalie Throneberry. “From that loss we learned and showed that we can compete at a high level, but that we can’t let our guard down for even one minute because that’s when they capitalized on their chances.”
Against SFA, Throneberry scored the first goal in the 29th minute of the game. However, SFA would answer scoring two goals, with one coming in the first half from Amanda Doyle and the other coming in the second half from Hanna Barker.
Freshman defender Shay Johnson tied the game up with a goal in the 71st minute of the game to make the score 2-2. Bu at the 82nd minute mark SFA’s Hailey Hunt scored the winning goal to put them on top for good.
“Moving forward from that game, we had a chip on our shoulder and we wanted to prove that even with that loss, we are one of the dominant teams in the conference,” Throneberry said. “We were able to use that game to fuel us into the win against Sam Houston.”
Against Sam Houston, senior midfielder/defender Allie Gerner picked up the first goal of the game coming in the 31st minute.
In the second half, Shay Johnson would score an insurance goal as the Wildcats cruised to a 2-0 shutout over Sam Houston.
“I thought that we did a really good job of staying composed going into the Sam Houston game after losing to SFA,” said Johnson. “Although SFA was a tough loss, I think it fueled us going into the Sam Houston game and helped us win it.”
Senior goalkeeper Sydney Newton made a total of nine saves over he weekend pushing her season total to 73.
With Johnson’s two goals over the weekend, she now has five on the season making her the team leader in goals as a freshman.
“Leading the team in goals is a really cool stat to have, but I wouldn’t be able to do it without the help of my teammates around me on the field,” said Johnson. “They’re the reason for all the goals I’ve scored and I wouldn’t have been able to score without them, it’s a team effort overall.”
With the loss to SFA and the win to Sam Houston, the Wildcats find themselves ranked fourth in Southland at a 7-2-1 conference record and an 8-8-2 overall record.
The women will be closing out their season on the road against Incarnate Word on Friday.
