Home, sweet home

After facing Baylor University and the University of Texas at Austin, the UTRGV Women’s Soccer team returned to their home turf Thursday night to defeat Texas Lutheran University 3-1.

UTRGV had been on the road for their last two games facing powerhouse teams Baylor and UT, but nothing beats playing on the home field. UTRGV wanted to win and was ready to do just that.

Texas Lutheran forward Jaclyn Smolik opened up the scoreboard during a penalty kick. At the 20:06 minute mark, the Vaqueras defense committed a handball in the box. Smolik took the ball and placed it on the right side of the net,resulting in a 1-0 lead for TLU.

UTRGV forward Daniela Cantu came in as a substitution and quickly adjusted to the rhythm of the game. She wasted no time and scored her first goal of the season after receiving a pass from teammate defender Katherine Stokely. Cantu shot from inside the box directly into the right corner of the net, closing the first half 1-1.

During the second half, it seemed as if the game was headed to overtime, but UTRGV had other plans. With just eight minutes remaining, the Vaqueras received a penalty kick after a handball was committed by TLU. Vaqueras forward Sarah Bonney shot the penalty kick past Bulldogs goalie Erin Davila and into the net. The Vaqueras took a 2-1 lead.

Scoring two goals was not enough for UTRGV. At 84:57, midfielder Gina Steiner scored the final goal of the night from a shot taken at the top of the box into the left corner of the net to give the Vaqueras a 3-1 victory.

Overall, UTRGV outshot TLU 34-5 and saw the career start of freshman goalie Maile Luna, who recorded one save.

Head Coach Glad Bugariu said decision-making was the primary reason for so many failed shots on goal.

“Shot selection, you know, was questionable for sure,” he said. “I also felt, you know, some of our approached play wasn’t as sharp. Some of our decision-making within the final third wasn’t sharp. There’s times where we could get past the final player and we chose to cut back.”

The Vaqueras now hold an overall record of 5-4-1 and will play one more non-conference game at 1 p.m. Sunday against the University of Nebraska Omaha at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex.

It will be Super Saver Sunday, when fans are encouraged to bring five non-perishable food items to donate to the Food Bank RGV. Donors will receive free admission to the game.