Box Score HUNTSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi soccer team was taken down in its second road match of the season on Thursday evening, failing to fully close an early deficit and dropping a heartbreaker to Sam Houston State by a final of 3-2.
The loss snapped a three-game point streak for the Islanders (1-2-2), who had not suffered a defeat since their season opener against Arkansas State in Jonesboro back on August 14. It also kept them from starting their first-ever winning streak against the Bearkats, as they had previously defeated their former conference rival in Corpus Christi last season.
After leading for all but one minute in their last game against A&M-San Antonio over the weekend, the Islanders found themselves on the other side of things from the opening whistle on Thursday, conceding first in just the fifth minute after a transition opportunity turned into a booming goal for Sam Houston from just inside the penalty box on the right side. They did not let the early deficit phase them, however, as after attempting three unsuccessful corner kicks in quick succession soon after, they finally converted on a fourth in the 17
th minute when freshman
Sille Bach Vesterholm found the head of redshirt senior
Madison Page, who sent it home for her second goal in as many games to equalize at one apiece.
A pair of great chances for A&M-Corpus Christi would come as the half wound down, with senior
Mai-Lisa Atis putting a nifty shot on target from the right side that forced a diving save in the 37
th minute and senior
Morgan Westbury following a minute later with an attempt that caromed off the left post and out of harm's way. The bad breaks would continue after this, as after narrowly avoiding disaster, the Bearkats would march down to the other end and snatch the lead right back with just five minutes until halftime on an attempted cross that ended up being placed perfectly into the right corner of the net with no assistance needed.
The break allowed a chance for the Islanders to reset following the late score in the first half, and they took advantage in a big way, coming out of the locker room and placing immense pressure on the Bearkats defense almost immediately. This pressure would eventually cause the dam to burst at the 53-minute mark, as after Atis sent a beautiful one-timer on target that was narrowly saved by the Sam Houston keeper, Westbury followed the deflection and blasted it home to level the score back up once again.
Unfortunately for the Islanders, however, they would find themselves in an almost identical situation with the match approaching its conclusion. A long shot by Sam Houston in the 87
th minute forced a save by keeper
Hayven Harrison, but on the ricochet off the redshirt senior's knees, a Bearkats attacker found the ball and converted in similar fashion to earlier in the half, putting A&M-Corpus Christi behind for the third time on the day. The team tried to put home yet another equalizer in its last gasp attempts, but a couple of clearances brought the clock down to zeroes and sent the visitors home with a tough defeat.
The stats for both teams looked very even at the final whistle, with the Islanders sending six shots on target and attempting eight corner kicks as opposed to seven and six respectively for the Bearkats. The biggest difference came on total shot volume, as A&M-Corpus Christi found itself outshot 19-9 by Sam Houston in total, which helped the hosts get the chances they needed to find the go-ahead score late. Individually, both Westbury and Page put home their second goals of the season to move into a tie with sophomore
Cilia Leal for the team lead, and Vesterholm recorded her first point with the team on her assist with the latter.
The Islanders will now try to shake off the loss in their next matchup over the weekend, staying in state for another nonconference road matchup with Prairie View A&M on Sunday at 12 p.m.
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