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Photo by Kyle Mazabob
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CORPUS CHRISTI – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's soccer team scored four second-half goals to post a 4-0 victory over Lamar on Sunday at Dugan Stadium. Hailey Sutton and Bri Lugo each scored a goal and an assist to lead the offensive effort for the Islanders.
Yvette Franco and Alyssa Miller also scored for A&M-Corpus Christi (3-5-3, 2-3-1 Southland) in the victory. Megan Delaney made four saves for her fifth shutout of the year, while Bailey Fontenot made three first-half saves in the loss for the Cardinals (4-9-1, 2-4-1).
"It was a great team victory today," head coach Shanna Caldwell said. "I'm so proud of the way we stuck together and elevated as a team in the second half. To have four different players finish today was great to see. We focused a lot this week on finishing and to see the product of their hard work pay off with goals is huge. The defense bent at times, but we stayed together and worked through it to come away with a clean sheet. "
"The second half, we really just talked about being smarter and executing sharper," she added. "Keeping possession and building instead of trying to force something that wasn't on. It paid off, as our outside midfielders were much more involved in the game."
After a scoreless opening half, the Islanders wasted no time in taking the lead after the break. Miller started the play off a throw-in, and reversed field to Sutton just outside the 18 on the right side. Sutton shook a defender and calmly sent a ball to Franco in front of the goal at the top of the box, and the sophomore drilled it home with her right foot to make it 1-0 at the 48:20 mark.
The score remained that way into the 65th, when Miller delivered a crucial play for the home squad. The senior got the ball in the penalty area, and was spinning past Marie Lund when she was taken down by the defender from behind. Lund was assessed a red card at 64:58, and Miller sent home the ensuing penalty kick to make it a 2-0 advantage.
Sutton extended the lead to 3-0 less than 10 minutes later. Becca Chance started the play near midfield, sending a ball forward to Lugo near the top of the box. The freshman then found Sutton streaking down the left side, and the redshirt sophomore took a touch and then beat the keeper just inside the near post for her first career goal at 74:56.
Lugo then capped off the scoring with less than two minutes to play. Fellow freshman Kimberly Isaacson made a nice touch to Lugo near midfield, and Lugo sent a lofting shot over a jumping Zoey Stephenson to push the advantage to 4-0 at the 88:49 mark. The Islanders finished off the shutout over the final 1:11 for their biggest margin of victory in program history.
The opening half was evenly played, with both teams doing a strong job of limiting the other's offensive chances. The top two opportunities of the half both belonged to Sutton for the Islanders. On her first, the redshirt sophomore rocketed a shot toward the top of the net in the seventh minute, but Fontenot made a jumping save to knock it over the crossbar. Later, Fontenot stopped Sutton again in the 22nd on a shot inside the 18.
The Islanders are back in action on Friday, Oct. 17, as they will host Abilene Christian for "Kick Cancer" night at the Dugan Soccer and Track Stadium. The first 200 students admitted to the game will receive a free pink rally towel courtesy KRIS 6 News. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.
For all the latest on Islanders Soccer, follow the team on Twitter and Instagram (@IslandersSoccer) and like the team's official Facebook page (Islanders Soccer).
