CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi soccer team earned its first point of conference play in its match against UTRGV on Thursday evening, playing to a hard-fought 1-1 draw to split the first points of 2026-27's South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union.
Much like in their Southland opener against Stephen F. Austin a week earlier, the Islanders (3-4-2, 0-1-1 SLC) started out the match in a rhythm on offense, controlling much of the possession early and getting the first chance of the night on a
Katie Porter shot in the third minute that was saved by Vaqueros (4-5-1, 0-1-1 SLC) keeper Mariana Amezcua. This pressure led to the first score of the night in the ninth minute, which came off a throw-in from
Sophia Dias to the head of
Grace Clay, who found Porter in the box with a nice feed for a header of her own that sailed right into the left side of the net. This was Porter's first goal since August 30 against Our Lady of the Lake and her sixth overall on the season, tying her for second in the conference and fifth all-time in a single season in program history.
Following the opening goal, the action became much more methodical, with A&M-Corpus Christi still holding the ball more than UTRGV but the two slowing the pace down while also ramping up the physicality with 12 combined fouls in the opening 45 minutes. By the time the whistle sounded for halftime, the hosts outshot the visitors 4-3 and earned two corner kicks as opposed to one on the other side, helping them hold their one-goal advantage into the break.
This pace of play resumed in the second half, but the Islanders did create a few chances, seeing shots from
Alisa Divano and
Natalie Taylor saved during the first 15 minutes of the period. Neither of these found paydirt, however, and in the 74
th minute, the Vaqueros capitalized on their best chance of the day, working themselves into an advantage and eventually leveling the score on an equalizer from Rubi Ortiz.
From here, the physicality ramped back up, with the teams getting whistled for six fouls over the final 25 minutes of action while they searched for the goal needed to earn them the full three points. The stalemate held up the rest of the way, though, sending both home with a point apiece.
In total, the Islanders outshot UTRGV 8-6 and 6-2 in tries on target, led by two each from Porter, Divano and Taylor and one from both
Isabella Castellanos Lopes and
Emma Lucero. In net,
Addie Brown earned the tie to move her personal record to 1-1-1, doing so while recording a save and controlling the box well.
The Islanders will now continue their three-match conference homestand over the weekend, welcoming McNeese to town for a matchup on Sunday at noon.
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