NATCHITOCHES, La. – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi soccer team could not keep its momentum rolling in its match on Thursday evening, failing to extend its points streak in conference play to three games after falling to Northwestern State by a final score of 2-0.
After an evenly contested start to the night, the Islanders (3-7-4, 1-3-2 SLC) conceded the first goal of the game to the Demons (8-3-3, 3-1-1 SLC) at the 22-minute mark, forcing them to play from behind for rest of the evening. They did create a good amount of their own chances in the first half, most notably a shot on target from distance by redshirt senior
Madison Page that forced a save by Northwestern State keeper Kennedy Rist and a trio of tries from senior
Mai-Lisa Atis and freshmen
MyJoi Anderson and
Sille Bach Vesterholm that were all blocked deep within opposing territory, but none found the back of the net for an early equalizer. The opening 45 minutes also proved to be very physical, with the two teams each committing eight fouls apiece.
The Islanders were able to keep their deficit at one for a while after coming out of the locker room, but the Demons managed to break through with an important insurance goal in the 62
nd minute, further putting the pressure on the visitors as the match moved to the later stages. From this point, A&M-Corpus Christi tried to push forward in an attempt to close the gap, with its closest attempt coming on a shot from sophomore
Alisa Divano that sailed just inches over the crossbar to narrowly miss getting on the board. The team could not find another prime chance after this, wrapping up the match in favor of NSU.
In the stat sheet, the Islanders managed to put up seven shots in total, with Atis leading the way as the lone member to attempt multiple. She was joined by five others with one try apiece, with those being Anderson, Vesterholm, Divano, Page and junior
Emmie Barton. In goal, sophomore
Jessie Spurrell made a trio of saves on the night, the best of which came on a beautiful diving stop that kept the conference's second-leading points scorer Emily Senatore from getting on the board in the eighth minute.
The Islanders will now return home looking to get back on the positive side of the results, hosting reigning Southland Conference champions Stephen F. Austin at the Dr. Jack Dugan Family Soccer and Track Stadium on Sunday at noon.
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