RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros women's soccer team picked up a big 2-1 victory over the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (TAMUCC) Islanders Sunday at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex in the first South Texas Showdown contest, presented by Rally Credit Union, of the athletic year.
UTRGV (1-1-0) used one goal each from junior defender
Abbie Bailey and freshman defender
Rosie Train and a pair of assists from freshman midfielder
Linnea Eld to capture the win in front of an appreciative crowd. Freshman goalkeeper
Emilia Compian had two saves on eight shots faced. TAMUCC (1-1-0) got its goal from
Olivia Hughes.
The Vaqueros came out firing and controlled the first half of the match. Junior midfielders
Ana Recarte-Pacheco and
Molly Reynosa and freshman midfielder/forward
Anna Hansson led the offensive charge. Bailey, after playing all 90 minutes in the season debut Friday, was again an immediate contributor.
In the 11
th minute, Eld's free kick turned into a header by Bailey which found the back of the net for the 1-0 lead and the first UTRGV goal of the season.
The Vaqueros set the pace for most of the first half. Junior defenders
Libby Beilfuss, Sydney Hammond and
Nadia Colon were active to help UTRGV contain the Islanders. TAMUCC had no corners and only two shots in the first half. The Vaqueros maintained possession and had three shots and three corners in the opening half.
But in the final minute of the opening frame, Hughes sent a free kick from a great spot to the right of the net into the goal to tie the match at 1-1.
TAMUCC rolled that momentum into the second half and pushed the tempo in the opening minutes of the frame, taking three shots and getting two corners in the first 15 minutes. Beilfuss was a key defender to prevent that pressure from resulting in the go-ahead goal.
UTRGV displayed textbook passing to race up the pitch and take the lead in the 81
st minute. It started and ended with Train, who got the connection started with a forward pass to graduate student forward
Jeweleen Reuille, who dropped it back to the freshman from England. Train sent it up to redshirt sophomore
Savannah Frisby, who tapped it right back over so Train could find Eld through traffic. Eld used a great touch to drop the ball past an Islanders defender, and Train gathered and sent the winning goal by a diving keeper into the right back corner of the net.
Freshman midfielder/forward
Anna Hansson and Frisby also added shots. UTRGV had seven corners to TAMUCC's two and the Vaqueros defense was steady to earn the win despite being outshot 8-4.
The Vaqueros will be on the road for their next match Thursday at Incarnate Word.
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