RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's soccer team dropped a Western Athletic Conference (WAC) match on a rainy Thursday, 2-1, to the Southern Utah Thunderbirds at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex.
Southern Utah (5-10-0, 1-4-0 WAC) controlled possession to open the first half, taking five shots to UTRGV's one through the first 30 minutes of play. UTRGV (3-8-2, 1-4-0 WAC) freshman goalkeeper
Emilia Compian, who came off the bench in the second minute following an injury to starting goalkeeper
Anais van Doesburg, made four saves and looked strong in the net in the opening frame.
Compian had a pair of highlight-reel stops in the first half – one in the 23
rd minute when she made a great read to quickly shut down a shot attempt following a long pass into the box, and another in the 43
rd minute as she corralled a sharp shot straight to the net after a Southern Utah corner kick.
In the final minute of the first half, junior
Sydney Hammond connected with graduate student
Jeweleen Reuille to give the Vaqueros the 1-0 lead heading to the locker room. Hammond, continuing the uptick in offensive pressure UTRGV found in the final 15 minutes of the half, drew a foul that led to a throw-in. Hammond took the throw-in and charged straight to the net, then saw Reuille a step ahead of her defender on her right. Hammond timed the cross perfectly so a diving Reuille could slip the ball into the left corner of the goal for the score.
Desperate for their first conference win, the Thunderbirds played with an intense sense of urgency in the second half, not slowed down one bit by the heavy and constant rain. Southern Utah controlled possession and created plenty of opportunities. In the 60
th minute,
Whitney Gardner knotted the match at 1-1 with a goal assisted by
Steph Roper. Eight minutes later, the Thunderbirds jumped on top, 2-1, after a score by
Alison Keller.
Both teams were competitive until the final whistle and the match got consistently more physical as the clocked ticked on. Plenty of shots were taken, but Southern Utah remained the aggressor, outshooting the Vaqueros 7-3 in the second half and keeping the ball primarily in the Thunderbirds offensive third to prevent UTRGV from tying or retaking the lead.
UTRGV's next match will be Sunday at 12 p.m. at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex against Utah Tech.
