Islanders Drop South Texas Showdown Contest 2-0

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Elvia Valdez and Andreya Barrera tallied a pair of late second half goals on Sunday night, as the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's soccer team lost, 2-0, to UT-Rio Grande Valley in the South Texas Showdown presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union.
 
After dropping the season opener to the Vaqueros (5-1-1), the Islanders (0-7-0) opened the home leg of the rivalry series on the front foot. A&M-Corpus Christi put three of its four first half shots on target compared to a lone attempt by the visitors. The teams entered the halftime break tied at 0-0.
 
Madeleine Lozano had the best scoring chance of the match for the Blue and Green in the 59th minute. The Aledo native found herself one-on-one with Vaquero goalkeeper Kinga Szemik in the box after a cross from Yvette Franco. Lozano's ensuing attempt beat the visiting netminder, but Frida Farstad-Eriksson sprinted back to make a goal line clearance.
 
The match appeared to be heading towards similar overtime scenario as the 2015 2-2 draw, but UTRGV struck with a pair of goals in a 69-second span. Valdez converted on an Islander turnover in the box to take the lead in the 76th minute, before Barrera curled her breakaway effort into the far post to make it 2-0 in the 77th.
 
A pair of rookies took the goalkeeping duties for the Islanders. Tatum Hightower earned her first career start, playing the first half and making one save. Kendall Moody came on for the final 45 minutes to set a career high with seven stops.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi finished the match with seven shots, four on goal, led by a pair of attempts from Emma Biba.
 
SOUTH TEXAS SHOWDOWN PRESENTED BY NAVYARMY COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION
A&M-Corpus Christi falls behind UTRGV in the rivalry series 8-5 with the result tonight. The next Showdown contest will be next Friday, Sept. 16, in cross country with the Islander Splash at the Dugan Family Stadium.
 
UPCOMING MATCH
The Islanders continue their record five-game homestand next week with a new first – a Saturday match. Abilene Christian comes to the Coastal Bend on Sept. 17 for a 7 p.m. kickoff to open Southland Conference play.  

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