Women’s soccer leaves home with 2-1 win
The UTRGV Women’s Soccer team defeated the Nicholls State University Colonels 2-1 tonight in the season’s final match at home.
The Vaqueros improve their record to 7-4-4 overall, and 3-1-3 in the Southland Conference, while the Colonels drop to 2-10-1 and 0-7 in SLC play.
Following tonight’s victory at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex on the Edinburg campus, the Vaqueros will only need to pick up two points in their remaining three matches away to qualify for the SLC tournament starting Nov. 7 in Corpus Christi.
UTRGV Women’s Soccer head coach Mark Foster said he was “delighted” to win the final home game of the season and that winning at home was a priority for the team.
“I knew this was gonna be a really tough game and it was,” Foster said. “I’m delighted to get the victory. Played some really good stuff in the first half. … [Nicholls] got their goal [in the second half]. I was so proud of how we reacted. [We] didn’t look nervous.”
UTRGV senior defender Abbie Bailey scored the deciding goal unassisted in the 32nd minute in a win she called “crucial.”
Bailey said she was “ecstatic” to score in her final home game at UTRGV.
“[The team has] been doing really, really, well,” she said. “They’re a great group of girls. We have so much love for each other that I think we carry that through on to the pitch.”
For the Colonels, senior goalkeeper Megan Cook, despite taking the loss, had an effective performance where she saved a shot and denied a few scoring opportunities.
The Vaqueros started the match by quickly pressing against Nicholls’ final third in an attempt to get the scoring started early.
This paid off, with junior winger Savannah Frisby getting UTRGV on the board first 1-0 in the 13th minute with her team-leading sixth goal of the season. Junior forward Olivia Trotter was credited with the assist.
In the 32nd minute, Bailey sent an unassisted screamer into the back of the net to double the Vaqueros’ lead 2-0. After this, UTRGV continued creating opportunities for breathing room in the first half.
After a shot to make the third goal was ruled offside, the first half ended in a 2-0 Vaqueros lead.
The second half of the match began at a bit of a slower pace than the first, with most of the battle taking place in midfield. This was a physical affair as both teams began to jockey for an essential goal.
In the 60th minute, a hard tackle by Vaqueros freshman Erika Parker was called foul and resulted in the referee issuing her a yellow card.
Afterward, a foul in the 61st minute on Frisby resulted in a free kick for Nicholls, taken by senior defender Peyton Bastine. This allowed the Colonels to break through on the scoresheet, with graduate forward Koryn Barrett placing the free kick into the net to bring it within a goal at 2-1 in the 62nd.
The Vaqueros picked up their pace in an attempt to regain their two-goal lead. Cook did her best to prevent it but the match ended in a 2-1 win for UTRGV.
UTRGV will be on the road for the remainder of the season, starting at 6 p.m. on Oct. 25 at Southeastern Louisiana University.
Fans can watch the remaining matches on ESPN+ and internationally on Southland International.