CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi soccer team could not pick up its first conference win of the season at home on Thursday evening, conceding a late goal and falling to Nicholls by a final score of 2-1.
The Islanders (2-5-3, 0-1-1 SLC) came out looking to press the issue right from the opening whistle in front of their home crowd, holding the ball in the Colonels' (4-5-1, 1-1 SLC) side of the field for most of the first half while putting together scoring chances early and often, most notably with a trio of shots on goal around the 20-minute mark from sophomores
Cilia Leal and
Alisa Divano. A&M-Corpus Christi ended up attempting 10 shots in total and putting five on goal while also taking four corner kicks in the first 45 minutes, but it was the visitors that ended up on top at the break despite this, as Nicholls capitalized on an opportunity the 27th minute on a shot from well outside the box that found the top-left corner of the net and opened up the scoring on the night.
Not long after coming out of the locker room, the Islanders were finally able to finish one of their many chances in the attacking end, leveling the score at one apiece on a beautiful goal from senior
Mai-Lisa Atis that proved to be almost a mirror image to the one that the Colonels got earlier in the night. The score was Atis's 15
th of her career with the program, moving her into a tie for third all-time in school history.
Following the equalizer from Atis, the two teams played much more evenly than they had in the first half, with both squads ramping up the intensity on offense to the tune of six shots and five corners for the Islanders and 11 and six respectively for Nicholls. With the match nearing its conclusion, the Colonels broke through again for what ended up being the game-winning goal, coming in the 88
th minute on another long distance try placed in the corner of the net that brought the score up to the 2-1 mark that it finished at.
The Islanders concluded the day with 16 shots in the score sheet, which tied for their second-most in a game this season behind only their record-setting 43-shot performance against Texas A&M-San Antonio on August 24. Leading the way in that category was Leal with four, and she was joined by Atis with three and freshman
Isabella Castellanos Lopes with two as the players to attempt multiple tries in the game.
A&M-Corpus Christi will now try to bounce back in a quick turnaround to its next match, heading to Louisiana for the first time this season to face off with Southeastern on Sunday at 1 p.m.
#ShakasUp
