CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Guided by a gritty defensive effort and
Yvette Franco's second game-winning goal in as many games, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's soccer team held off Northwestern State on Friday night at the Dugan Soccer Stadium for a 1-0 Senior Night victory. Prior to the match, Islanders honored the eight members of the 2016 senior class, the first group to play four years on the Island.
The Islanders (2-12, 2-5) held off a litany of Lady Demon (8-6, 5-2) for 83 minutes, after Franco bagged her second goal of the season in the seventh minute.
"It was an exciting win," head coach
Shanna Caldwell said. "It was a great crowd here for senior night. It was the first time we've beaten Northwestern State, since the program started. The girls just played their hearts out for the whole game on both sides of the ball. We gutted out that one out, and it was really exciting to see them hold on to the lead."
A&M-Corpus Christi jumped on the attack quickly in the first half. After several stalled offensive efforts, Franco unleashed a dipping shot from 35 yards away. Bouncing at the six-yard box, Lady Demons goalkeeper Alex Latham was fooled by the ball's movement, as it deflected off her gloves and into the back of the net.
"I can't help but think 'finally'," said Franco. "We've been working for this and looking for the win every game. We've been giving everything we have, and the results are starting to go our way."
Northwestern State attempted to scrape back into the match in the remaining minutes. A backline boosted by seniors
Mariah Olivé,
Kallyn Redona and
Audrey Kuhl held the Lady Demons to season-lows in shots and shots on goal with 10 and 3, respectively.
Goalkeeper
Jordan Wainwright turned aside every attempt on net for her first shutout as an Islander. The Live Oak, Fla., native was proud of the defensive outing put on by her teammates.
"I knew that NSU was looking for the through ball, so I had to stay high on my line," said Wainwright. "The defense did a very good job of tracking runners and not leaving a man open in the box. I'm very proud of how they played tonight."
ISLANDERS FIRST CLASS
The 2016 senior class has been with the program since day one. Through four years, the eight members have built a program from the ground up, and they stepped up big for the Islanders on Friday night.
Aside from Franco's goal, her program record 17th of her career,
Brooke Erdmann nearly gave A&M-Corpus Christi a two-score cushion with a drive in the 58th minute, but Latham managed to deflect it away for a corner.
In the midfield
Hannah Joseph and
Emma Biba thwarted Lady Demon attacks, playing 80 and 66 minutes, respectively, and up top,
Jenna-Kaya Charles made a run across the Northwestern State backline that gave Franco the space to shoot.
The defensive effort of Redona, Kuhl and Olivé was critical to the Islanders' second win in a row.
"I think our energy was really high off the start," Kuhl said. "We came out here knowing that the pressure was on us to perform with a great crowd tonight. We needed to make sure we stayed focused and got the big win that we knew we could get."
UPCOMING MATCH
The Islanders wrap up their two-game homestand on Sunday with a kickoff against Central Arkansas. The Blue and Green topped the Bears in Conway, Ark., last season 2-1.
"We need to recover tomorrow and get a lot of fluids," added Caldwell. "We need to mentally reset for another tough battle against UCA. There's no extra motivation needed. They just know that we can control our own fate by controlling the little things out here."
STAY SOCIAL
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- Go Islanders -
