This weekend the soccer team went on the road to face Northwestern State, losing the match 2-1 in overtime, and Central Arkansas, tying them 0-0.
The Wildcats began the Northwestern game with a goal in the 14th minute by senior forward Natalie Throneberry, assisted by sophomore forward Dylan Owens.
This goal gave Throneberry the outright lead in goals on the team with three on the season.
In the 33rd minute of the game, junior midfielder Cache’ Haley scored for the Demons, her first of the season, to tie the game.
No scoring came in the second half, sending the game to overtime. The game would last until the 97th minute of play, when junior forward Esdeina Gonzalez put in the game-winning goal with a header, her second of the season, for Northwestern.
“The game against Northwestern, we learned that we need to play as a whole,” said Owens. “Everyone needs to be on the same page and communicate a lot more when we get tired. It was a game that really was sad to lose but will teach us a lot and will spark the fire inside of us to never have to experience that feeling again.”
Freshman defender Shay Johnson was able to make a return against Northwestern State after healing up an ankle injury she suffered weeks ago.
“It felt really great to be out on the field again,” said Johnson. “I was a bit nervous before the NSU game about how my ankle was gonna hold up, but once I got on the field my adrenaline completely took me over. I could tell I was a little out of shape from siting out for a month, but that gives me something to work myself back into.”
Against Central Arkansas, the Wildcats dueled in a defensive battle against the Bears, going through two overtime periods with no score.
Owens led the team with seven shots in the game, four of them on goal. Senior goalkeeper Sydney Newton saw a total of eight shots and stopped every one of them, giving her 55 saves on the season as well as her fourth shutout.
“Strategically, the team really did an awesome job about fighting hard through the last minute,” said Johnson. “Going into OT in both of our games was tough, but we fought all the way till the end. We know that the loss vs NSU was one that kinda put us into a tough position, so moving forward we have to win the rest of our games to stay in the pool for the conference championship.”
The women will next face Houston Baptist here in Abilene at Elmer Gray Stadium Friday.
