CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's soccer team saw its 2016 campaign come to a close on Friday night at the Dugan Soccer Stadium. Despite
Madeleine Lozano's first career goal, the Islanders (3-14-1, 3-7-1) could not overcome a trio of first half goals by Houston Baptist (7-10-1, 5-5-1), falling 4-1 in the season finale.
"It's an emotional night," head coach
Shanna Caldwell said. " Saying goodbye on the field to our senior class was hard. This game didn't go as we'd planned, but that happens sometimes. The big thing that we can be proud of was our fight and resolve to play to the last second. We never gave up and we battled.
"We had a great crowd and environment tonight. We would like to say thank you to everyone who came out tonight to support our 2016 Islanders."
A&M-Corpus Christi entered the match with the knowledge that a win would clinch their second consecutive bid the Southland Conference Tournament. In front of the second largest crowd of the year, the Blue and Green held its annual Kick Cancer night to raise breast cancer awareness, with a portion of the night's proceeds going to the American Cancer Society.
Backed by the energy of the fans, the Islanders defense, anchored by seniors
Kallyn Redona and
Audrey Kuhl, held firm against an onslaught of Husky attacks in the opening 15 minutes.
The visitors took the lead in the 17th minute, when Allison Abendschein slotted home a low cross from Casey Basso. The Islanders turned to the attack after falling behind with shots from
Shayla Spearman and
Brooke Erdmann.
Kristi O'brien washed out the growing momentum for the hosts with a pair of long-range free kick goals in the 29th and 31st minutes.
Again, after conceding, the Blue and Green turned the tables and sent attacks towards the Huskies' net. In the 38th minute, Lozano pulled one back for the Islanders. The freshman out of Aledo hammered a one-touch shot from 35 yards into the upper corner of the goal. Senior
Yvette Franco set her rookie teammate up with a pass between two defenders.
Emerging out of the halftime break down 3-1, the Islanders peppered the Husky goal with four shots in a span of five minutes, but HBU goalkeeper Alanis Guevara was up to the task on each occasion. Pouring players forward in the second half, Houston Baptist struck on the counterattack to put the game beyond reach for the Islanders, when Ellee Hall curled a loose ball into the net in the 68th minute.
A&M-Corpus Christi goalkeeper
Jordan Wainwright made five stops in the match to finish her first season on the Island. Rookie netminder
Kendall Moody came in for a brief spell at the end of the first half.
Offensively, A&M-Corpus Christi recorded its third-highest shot total of the campaign with 12, falling in that category to HBU by one.
While the result was not in favor of the Islanders on Friday, Lozano's goal helped the 2016 squad set the school record for goals in a season with 16.
A CLASS CAPS ITS CAREER
The 2016 senior class represented the first four-year group of players in program history. Seniors
Brooke Erdmann,
Kallyn Redona,
Jenna-Kaya Charles,
Yvette Franco,
Audrey Kuhl,
Emma Biba,
Mariah Olivé and
Hannah Joseph set the standard for Islanders Soccer.
Combined the class tallied 28 goals and 15 assists, while making over 200 starts. Perhaps their most significant contribution on the Island was creating a mentality of "team above self", something Caldwell has praised since the start of the 2016 season.
"The program is in a better place because of the grit and heart of the senior class's four years of effort and belief," Caldwell continued. "I can't thank them enough for choosing this institution and trusting us to build a long-lasting soccer program that this community can be proud of on the field and in the classroom."
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 -
