CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi soccer team got its 2026 season started in wild fashion on Wednesday night, falling in a big early hole but roaring back to secure a draw against Tarleton State by a final score of 2-2.
In their first time out on the pitch in the new season, the Islanders (0-0-1) found themselves playing from behind, conceding in the eighth minute when a failed clearance led to an opportunity that the Texans' (0-0-1) Zahra Friess did not miss, sending a shot just past keeper
Jessie Spurrell for the first goal of the afternoon for either side. The hosts' deficit would end up doubling not long after as well, with Grace Berry sending a long-distance try into the left corner in the 20
th minute to make it a 2-0 disadvantage.
Now staring at a long climb back into things, A&M-Corpus Christi received a much-needed shot in the arm right before halftime, which came in the form of a rocket off the foot of returning senior
Dakota Merino. After Tarleton sent back a cross into the box, Merino found herself with the ball well beyond the 18-yard mark and decided to take her shot at net, sending a perfectly placed banger into the top right corner to get the team on the board for its first goal of the new year. For Merino, the goal already helped her match her total from the entire 2025 campaign, when she scored once in 19 games during her debut season on the Island.
This 36
th-minute score helped swing the momentum back in the Islanders' direction, and after a few adjustments at the break, they came out hot to start the second half, getting things going with a few early shots on target from
Ashley Wilson and
Mackenzie Mackreth. These attempts preceded what was the big breakthrough, as after a foul set them up with a free kick on the far side of the field,
Natalie Taylor lifted in a ball that perfectly found
Katie Porter in the box, who one-timed it home for the equalizing goal in the 61
st minute. Like Merino, this also helped Porter match her total in goals from 2025, and for Taylor, it marked the first point of her collegiate career in her very first game.
The Islanders kept up the pressure throughout the remainder of the second half after this goal, putting up nine shots against just three for the Texans over the final 45 minutes of action. Looking to turn this into the game-winning goal, they worked their way into two good chances late in the night, the first of which coming when
Isabel McNeal received the ball in the box on a feed from Wilson but was unable to get a good enough shot off with a defender on her back hip. In the waning seconds,
Grace Clay found herself with an opportunity after entering the box on the far side, but she could not find an angle and sent her try into the arms of keeper Emma Barnes, where it would stay until the final buzzer sounded.
In total, the Islanders ended up besting the Texans in both total shots and shots on goal, winning the former battle by a mark of 13-12 and the latter 9-6. Mackreth ended up leading the way with three in her A&M-Corpus Christi debut, and right behind her was Wilson, who put both of her tries on target. Beyond them, the group of Porter, Merino,
Emma Lucero and
Vanessa Wimbish all managed one try apiece, with the first two finding the back of the net with theirs for the pair of huge scores. In net, Spurrell put in a nice shift after the initial outburst from Tarleton, holding the visitors off the scoreboard for the final 70 minutes while tallying four saves overall.
The Islanders will now take this result and try to improve on it in their next contest on Sunday, continuing their homestand with a matchup against Texas A&M-International at 7 p.m.
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