CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and HCU soccer teams couldn't find a hole in the other's defense, ending their conference opener in a 0-0 draw Sunday afternoon at the Dr. Jack Dugan Family Soccer and Track Stadium.
The Islanders (3-2-4) attacked well despite the outcome, outshooting the Huskies 12-5 including six on target and controlled the majority of the game. Junior
Mai-Lisa Atis took five shots on the day while freshman
Cilia Leal put two on target.
A&M-Corpus Christi also had six corner kicks to add to the offensive attempts and limited HCU to just one through the game.
"We are really proud of the team, we completed two halves of good soccer against a conference opponent and that was the plan," said head coach
Daniel Clitnovici. "Although we can be frustrated that we didn't capitalize on the attacking opportunities we created, we have to take a positive from this game for playing well all 90 minutes."
Senior
Zoe Theriot made three saves off five shots faced through the full 90 minutes played in the net. It is her and the Islanders' defense third shutout game of the year.
It is just the second time the Islanders opened their conference schedule with a tie, and first since the 2015 season when the program tied Abilene Christian 1-1 after double overtime. The four ties so far this season is the second most in a year for the Islanders behind the 2020-21 COVID season that saw five ties.
"The team left it all out there, they competed well for the entire game and should have got more than just a tie from it. Credit to HCU who came in today and defended really well, they had a game plan to sit in and defense and they did just that. As much as we felt we deserved more from the game, we need to be honest and accept we didn't do enough in the final third to get the goal we needed. I'm very happy with the attitude from the team and look forward to a good week of practice heading into next week," said Clitnovici.
The Islanders will get another shot at winning their first conference game under Clitnovici at home when they welcome McNeese for a 7 p.m. matchup Friday night.
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