CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi soccer team kept its unbeaten start to the 2026 season going on Thursday evening, piecing together another strong effort on its way to a draw with Sam Houston by the final score of 1-1.
The result gave the Islanders (2-0-2) a point for the fourth consecutive match since their opener on August 12, marking the first time in program history that they have ever accomplished that feat to begin a season. It also extended their ongoing stretch of not losing in regular or extra time to eight games dating back to October 19 of last year, representing the longest such streak in program history.
"The staff and I are really proud of the group," Islanders head coach
Daniel Clitnovici said. "They demonstrated an eagerness to play on the front foot and control large parts of the game, and I think given the chances we created, we could have and should have finished with a win. We aren't disheartened by the final result, though, as these are the games that you need to play in order to continue to grow, and our group knows that they got better tonight."
In an effort to get its offense going earlier than it had in each of its previous matches, A&M-Corpus Christ came out of the gates looking to turn up the pressure on the Bearkats (0-1-3), starting things off with a great chance right out of the gates in the sixth minute. Capitalizing on a defensive breakdown,
Ashley Wilson found herself with the ball right outside the box and fired a shot that forced a save from the opposing keeper, with the rebound falling right at the feet of
MyJoi Anderson. The striker could not get a good touch on the ball, however, and the one-timer bounced just to the left of the post, narrowly missing the first goal of the game for either side.
This aggression by the Islanders ended up paying off almost immediately following this, though, as after another run into the box, Sam Houston got caught with a handball that was confirmed with VAR at the next dead ball a few minutes later. The hosts sent
Katie Porter to the spot with the opportunity to get on the board, and she did not miss this chance, sending the keeper diving the other way and finding the right side of the net to give them their earliest goal of the season to date. This made it four straight games with a goal for Porter, giving her the lead in the Southland Conference so far this year and already leveling her with the highest goal scorers for the Islanders throughout the entirety of the 19-match 2025 campaign.
Even with this newfound advantage, A&M-Corpus Christi did not let up on the gas, getting one more dangerous opportunity before the end of the first half. Like earlier, this one came on a defensive lapse from the Bearkats, with the visitors failing to clear the ball out of their defensive half and turning it over to the Islanders in prime position. Now on the attack again,
Cilia Leal Cardona laced a low shot that forced a fingertip save, and on the rebound,
Grace Clay got her own try off that appeared headed for the back of the net if not for a deflection off the body of a Sam Houston defender.
The halftime break did not slow down the Islanders either, with the hosts finding yet another chance at the 58-minute mark. After a Bearkats free kick landed in the hands of keeper
Jessie Spurrell, the team went on the counterattack quickly, pushing ahead right away and eventually getting the ball to Anderson, who raced past a pair of defenders to work her way into a one-on-one opportunity. The sophomore took her chance at net right after entering the box, but her try ended up just inches to the right of the post, coming so close to doubling the lead up to two.
The run of play shifted to a more even footing after this, but A&M-Corpus Christi did get another breakaway with 13 minutes to go, seeing Porter feed Clay with an excellent pass up the right side before the keeper came out to get a hand on the ball before the latter could make the last move she needed to put her try on goal. This play led into the last act of the match, at which point Sam Houston managed to get its equalizer with just four minutes left on the clock. The Islanders tried to flip the field with the time running out but could not strike up the momentum once again, taking things to the buzzer to secure the point.
Despite the unfortunate ending to the match, the Islanders still had much to take away, as they outshot the Bearkats 15-12 in total and 7-5 on goal behind three from Wilson and two apiece from Clay and Anderson. Spurrell also continued her nice start to the year, making four saves and pushing her streak of not allowing a goal up to 312 minutes in a row before finally conceding at the end.
"We missed three pretty clear goal scoring moments, which on another day should go in and put you up by a few goals," Clitnovici said. "We will take the tie even though the team knows they could have gone one better having scored those opportunities. Credit to Sam Houston, they stayed in the game and caused us some issues late in the game to eventually capitalize on a mistake and score the game-tying goal."
The Islanders will now wrap up their season-opening homestand over the weekend, playing their final match before heading out on the road for the first time against Our Lady of the Lake on Sunday at 12 p.m.
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