CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Garnering its first-ever outright victory in the postseason, the No. 2 seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi soccer team used a two-goal second half Tuesday night to survive No. 7 Lamar, the reigning SLC champions, 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Southland Conference Tournament at the Dr. Jack Dugan Family Soccer and Track Stadium. .
The Islanders (10-4-5) have continued to write history in 2024, reaching new heights again tonight as the win over the Cardinals (5-8-6) marks the program's first-ever time advancing on an outright win. The only other time A&M-Corpus Christi moved past the first round of the conference tournament was in 2019 after tying UIW 2-2 and advancing 4-2 on PKs.
While the program has already claimed its first winning season in school history, it now sees its most winning season as the 10 wins this year breaks the single-season record. Since the conference tournament is hosted on A&M-Corpus Christi's field, the win counts towards their home record as well which has also set the new standard for most home wins in a year (6).
It was Lamar who came out the aggressor throughout the first half, holding an 8-3 advantage in shots. The Cardinals struck first in the 14th minute and continued to control the first half into the break. However, the Islanders began to make their move in the second half.
In the 63rd minute, freshman
Cilia Leal got a ball towards goal that found the head of junior
Mai-Lisa Atis, an All-Conference Second Team selection, who netted the equalizer and ignited a spark in the home team.
It only took three minutes for another opportunity as a hand ball was called in the box, forcing an Islander penalty kick which stood after video review. Senior
Storm Harris stepped up and buried her attempt in the back of the net to suddenly give A&M-Corpus Christi a 2-1 lead.
Lamar went on a heavy attack in the remaining 25 minutes, but senior
Zoe Theriot and the rest of the Islander defense held firm to pull out their first-ever Southland Tournament win and halt Lamar's quest for a three-peat.
It marks Atis's 13
th career goal and fourth of the year while Leal recorded her third assist. Harris is now at three goals on the season and four in her career.
The Islanders now set their eyes to Thursday's semifinal matchup against No. 3 Texas A&M-Commerce at 7 p.m. The Lions advanced after defeating No. 6 UIW 2-1 earlier today. The Islanders took this year's regular season matchup with A&M-Commerce 2-1.
The winner will advance to the championship game on Sunday at 1 p.m. against No. 1 SFA/No. 4 Northwestern State. It would be the first-ever finals appearance for the Islanders.
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