Victoria, TX – The University of the Southwest Women's Soccer traveled to Victoria, Texas, to face fellow RRAC member, the University of Houston-Victoria (UHV). The Jaguars of UHV (6-2-3, 3-1-1 RRAC) came into the contest winning three of their last four. The Lady Mustangs looked to bounce back after ending their six-game win streak last week against TAMUSA.
The USW offense looked to get on the board early against a solid UHV side when Freshman
Elizabeth Rico took the first shot of the game in the 4
th minute that flew high of the goal.
After several substitutions by Houston-Victoria, the next shot of the game would go to UHV's newly subbed in Mia Martinez in the 31
st minute off a pass from Clara Strand that would find the back of the net. They would not waste much time as Clara Strand now found a goal of her own in the 37
th minute from an Emily Moran assist. Subs proved immense for the Jaguars as they went into the half leading the Lady Mustangs 2-0.
Houston-Victoria came out of the half with the same offensive mindset they had in the first half. It quickly became a 3-0 game for the Jaguars when Estelle Flanagan scored off an assist from Mia Martinez less than two minutes into the half.
The Lady Mustangs would not stay quiet. Senior
Mayeli Torres found Junior
Emma Rocco for USW's first goal of the game and to make it 3-1 with just under forty minutes to play.
Sadly, the Jaguars answered back quickly when Mia Martinez got her second assist of the match from a Chloe Spencer goal in the 52
nd minute. A quiet rest of the second half would seal it for Houston-Victoria as they took down USW 4-1.
"Today's game, we took another defeat and are heading in the direction we are trying to avoid," said Head Coach
Edgar Negrete. "We're getting to the part of the season where it's more challenging due to injuries, and we are having to get out of the funk that we are in. We had a couple of chances in the first couple of minutes and couldn't find the back of the net. The girls are a little discouraged at the moment, but we have a lot to play for. The goal now that we have is to make the tournament. I did tell the girls if they knew what the happiest animal out there was. I told them it's a goldfish—the reason why is that they have a 10-second memory. I always tell the girls to be goldfish. We have to be able to forget and move on."
"I hope we can come together on Saturday and get a big win on the road. Once we get back on the winning side, I think we will be okay. The challenge is to get out of this slump and remain positive. But we do have to be accountable. Today we are goldfish and forget and move on to the next one."
The Lady Mustangs will be back in action this Saturday against Huston-Tillotson on the road. Continue to follow USW Athletics and USW Women's Soccer on all social media for scores and updates throughout the season.
