BEAUMONT, Texas – In the dying minutes of Friday night's road game for the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's soccer team, senior
Brooke Erdmann notched her fourth career goal to lift the Islanders to a 2-1 victory over Lamar.
The Islanders (3-13, 3-6) fought off an early deficit with a goal by
Yvette Franco in the 54th minute, before Erdmann secured three points for the visitors two minutes from time.
"First half, we were playing well," head coach
Shanna Caldwell said. "We had some adjustments we needed to make, and I think we followed that game plan in the second half."
A&M-Corpus Christi opened the match on the front foot with strikes from Franco and
Madeleine Lozano forcing Lamar (1-13-3, 0-6-3) goalkeeper Rachel Greis into a pair of saves.
Goalkeeper
Jordan Wainwright kept the Islanders within striking distance of Lamar throughout the match, finishing with six stops. The Live Oak, Fla., could do little more than watch as Lamar's Angelica Hernandez gave the hosts the lead in the 20th minute with a curled a shot just under the crossbar.
"Their goal tonight was a tremendous finish; however, we needed to close down the shooter," said Caldwell. "The main thing we talked about at half was staying composed, continuing to get the ball on the ground and not forcing it. We told them to take more chances, that there was plenty of time to get the goal back and take the lead."
After conceding the early goal, the backline of
Audrey Kuhl,
Kallyn Redona,
Karla Kedenburg and
Meghan Cordero and midfielders
Hannah Joseph and Lozano held firm against Lamar attacks. All four defenders played 90 minutes and gave up just three shots in the second half.
"Defensively, I think we did better picking up the backside runner and staying on our feet in 1v1 situations," added Caldwell. "It was a great team effort to close out the game."
In the 54th minute, the Islanders struck back. After intercepting a pass at midfield,
Emma Biba sent a line drive over the Lamar backline. Franco gave a delicate flick at the top of the box to go around the goalkeeper before tapping into the empty net.
As both sides sent numbers forward looking for the game-winning strike, the counterattack was open for a team to take advantage. After Wainwright made her final save of the night, the junior-transfer quickly started the attack with a throw up field. Franco sent a piercing ball through the defense to Erdmann, who beat a rushing Greis to tap the ball between the goalkeeper's legs and into the net from 30 yards out.
"In the second half, we played our game," said Erdmann. "We calmed it down and played with good possession. We all had it in the back of our heads that we needed this game to continue our path to the Southland Conference Tournament. When we tied the game up, we kept fighting and were able to find the back of the net with two minutes left for the win."
The victory marks the third win in the last four games for the Blue and Green. A&M-Corpus Christi set a new season high tonight with 14 shots.
OFFENSE PEAKING
• After a slow start to the year in the goal department, the Islanders have netted 10 goals in the last eight games.
•
Yvette Franco has been electric on the field, finding the back of the net in four consecutive games to take her career tally to 19. Her assist on the game winner moved her in to first place on the all-time assists list, passing
Meghan Cordero.
•
Brooke Erdmann has made her mark after transitioning to forward this season. With a pair of goals on the year, she now sits fourth on the all-time scoring list and second in game-winning goals.
• Despite not appearing on the scoresheet tonight,
Shayla Spearman proved to be a nuisance for the Cardinal backline.
"Yvette played a great ball in, and Brooke stayed composed with a good touch, and then calmly placed the game winner in the back of the net," said Caldwell. "Brooke and Yvette, as well as Shayla, are all feeding off each other's energy right now and giving defenses trouble."
UPCOMING MATCH
The Islanders return to the pitch on Sunday to continue their push for a second consecutive Southland Conference Tournament appearance against McNeese at 1 p.m.
A&M-Corpus Christi will wrap up its regular season next Friday against Houston Baptist. The match will be the annual Kicking Cancer match for Islanders Soccer.
STAY SOCIAL
For more information on Islanders women's soccer, follow the team on Twitter (@IslandersSoccer), Instagram (@IslandersSoccer) and like their Facebook page (Islanders Soccer).
- Go Islanders -
