CORPUS CHRISTI – Alyssa Miller scored her third goal of the season, but Sam Houston State delivered the game-winner in the 79th minute as they knocked off the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi soccer team 2-1 on Friday at Dugan Stadium.
SHSU improved to 7-8-0 and maintained its grip on second place in the Southland Conference by moving to 6-2-0 in league play. The Islanders are now 4-6-3 overall and 3-4-1 in the conference, as they remain in the sixth spot for the Southland Tournament. Megan Delaney made nine saves in a losing effort for the Islanders.
"It was a tough loss tonight," head coach Shanna Caldwell said. "Sam Houston State is a very good team, so credit to them for finishing their chances.
"The first half," she added, "I was upset with our lack of communication on the field. We definitely weren't talking and shifting the way we should have. In the second half I was proud of the fight and effort the girls displayed. Miller had a great finish to get us started and we battled. I was very encouraged with our second half. Hannah Joseph had a huge game.
"I think the loss will definitely feed our resolve to be focused and ready for HBU on Sunday," she concluded. "This team fights and I love that spirit about them."
The first half was a possession-oriented period that had a couple wild sequences. The first came in the 20th minute, as Aulona Velaj played a brilliant through ball forward to Yvette Franco, but the assistant referee ruled the sophomore offsides.
Just afterward, Sam Houston State cracked the scoreboard on a tremendous goal by Madison Bible. Allie Johnson headed a ball out of the air to the top of the 18, and Shelby McDaniel delivered a header flick ahead to Bible deep in the box. Bible collected and sent the ball low to the left side to make it a 1-0 score at 20:14.
The Bearkats controlled play for much of the rest of the half, but the Islanders had a stellar opportunity with less than three minutes remaining in the stanza. A ball ahead to Hannah Joseph sent her into the box ahead of her defender. The Bearkats defense recovered to stall her attack, but she played a ball to Nanna Poulsen in front, but Poulsen's shot glanced off the crossbar and high to keep the game at 1-0 heading to the break.
But A&M-Corpus Christi wasted no time in drawing even, as Miller put the home squad on the board in the 48th minute. Aulona Velaj won a 50/50 ball at midfield and played the ball ahead of the Bearkats backline. Miller streaked forward, beat her defender and sent a low ball past Kylie Hambleton to make it a 1-1 score at 47:41.
Each team had a handful of strong chances over the next 30 minutes, but nobody cracked the scoreboard again until the 79th. Bible started the play near midfield and sent a ball wide to the right to a streaking Ashley Alonzo. Alonzo stayed even with her defender near the top of the box, and blistered a shot into the top of the net to put the visitors ahead 2-1 at the 78:20 mark.
The Islanders had one final chance in the closing minutes, but Nanna Poulsen's shot from the right side sailed high and the home squad came away with a loss at Dugan Stadium for the first time since Sept. 5.
A&M-Corpus Christi has one last home contest on its schedule, with Houston Baptist on the docket for Sunday at 1 p.m. The contest will be the Islanders' Senior Day, as the team pays tribute to Sara Chandlee, Alyssa Miller and Aulona Velaj prior to their final home game.
