Friday night’s game was one to remember for UTRGV freshman forward Emily Zapata, who scored two goals, resulting in a 2-1 overtime victory against McNeese State University.
Zapata was key to the Vaqueras’ victory at the Soccer and Track & Field Complex in Edinburg. After all, she had been named WAC Offensive Player of the Week and had to live up to her title.
The first goal for Zapata came in the second half of the game. She knew she had to do something because the Vaqueras were trailing 1-0 after a first-half goal by Cowgirls midfielder/forward Morgan Middleton.
At 29 minutes into the second half, the Cowgirls committed a foul. UTRGV received a free kick that was taken by defender Tuva Nilsen. Nilsen placed the ball in the box, where Zapata was waiting and headed the ball into the net.
For the remainder of the second half, the Vaqueras and Cowgirls stayed 1-1 resulting in overtime.
With just three minutes remaining in the first half of overtime, Zapata shot from the outside and placed the ball on the left side of the net to lift UTRGV to a 2-1 victory.
This is the fifth goal of the season for Zapata and the second time that she scores a game-winning goal. Zapata said at first, she was hesitant when it came to scoring the second goal.
“I thought that Coach [Glad Bugariu] was going to be mad at me because I shot, but I was like, ‘Nah, you know what, let’s just do it’ and I did it.”
Bugariu said his team’s dedication showed on the field.
“I mean, the players were superb, the work rate, the dedication. … Overall, the work rate that they put in, and in the second half especially, was a testament to their dedication to this team.”
The Vaqueras are now 4-2-1 overall and will return to the field at 7 p.m. Sunday as they face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the South Texas Showdown at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex.
UTRGV junior forward Sarah Bonney (left) attempts to block Cowgirls senior midfielder Nola Prickett in Friday night’s game.
