The Lady Wildcat soccer team followed up its pair of victories from two weekends ago with another two wins this past weekend. They breezed past West Texas A&M University on Friday 4-1 and had an almost equally easy win over Eastern New Mexico University on Sunday 3-1.
The Wildcats got off to a quick start on Friday with a goal in the sixth minute by freshman Ashley Holton. The rest of the first half, however, was scoreless, and the Wildcats went into halftime up 1-0.
The second half began with another quick start by the Wildcats as senior Courtney Wilson scored after just four minutes. West Texas A&M responded quickly with a goal of their own in the fiftieth minute, knocking the Wildcats’ lead back down to one (2-1).
This didn’t discourage the Wildcats as they continued to keep pressure on the West Texas A&M goalkeeper with 14 total shots in the game and two more goals. The third goal came from the head of sophomore Krysta Grimm on a long throw from senior Kendall Cooper. It was Grimm’s first goal of the season and seemed to seal the victory for the Wildcats.
Holton knocked another ball into the back of the net in the last few minutes of the game, giving the Wildcats a 4-1 win and giving Holton her sixth goal in the last three games.
“We are passing well and being patient on the ball right now when we are playing well. There are times when we still get a little impatient and play a little kickball, but the girls know now what they need to do and what to avoid, so I think we are in a good place,” said Head Coach Casey Wilson.
The Wildcats would pick up where they left off on Friday with their Sunday afternoon game against Eastern New Mexico. Freshman Andrea Carpenter got a hat trick in the game, getting her first goal in the thirteenth minute with a pass from Courtney Wilson. Eastern New Mexico was unable to get any shots off in the first half, but the Wildcats went into halftime only up 1-0, just like Friday.
Carpenter would get her second goal just ten minutes into the second half on a cross from sophomore Julie Coppedge. She would then tap-in her third goal nine minutes later on a pass from Krysta Grimm, giving the team a comfortable lead and an eventual 3-1 victory.
Carpenter’s third goal gave her twelve goals on the season, taking over the goal-scoring lead from her freshman teammate, Ashley Holton. Both Carpenter and Holton have now beaten the Wildcat record for most goals in a single season.
“This weekend we came out and played well for four solid halves,” said Grimm. “Winning games like we did this weekend is going to keep our momentum going as we finish out conference.”
The Wildcats are now 9-2 on the season and 4-1 in the LSC. They hope to continue their winning streak this weekend with their last two home games this Friday and Sunday.
