Turning the tables

The UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros Women’s Soccer team conquered the Chicago State University Cougars in a 2-0 win this afternoon at the Edinburg Soccer and Track & Field Complex.

The win moved UTRGV’s record to 3-10-3 overall and improved their conference tally to 1-6-0.

“Well, with this game, they’re a second-year team as well and we’re trying to understand the fact that they are having the same development course that we are,” UTRGV Head Coach Glad Bugariu said about the Cougars. “We’re always trying to make sure we’re above them. For us, it’s an important win because it keeps us in contention for the playoffs. It’s a long-term project and we want to show certain improvements. Certainly, this gives us an opportunity to do that.”

The Vaqueros opened up the scoring 10 minutes into the first half with a goal from sophomore forward Allyson Smith, with assists from sophomore midfielder Andreya Barrera and freshman forward Malia Irvine.

“It’s nice to finally get a goal,” Smith said after the game. “I’ve had a lot of bad luck this season, with a lot of injuries and it’s finally nice to get a goal and I feel really good about it.”

Late into the second half, the Vaqueros scored at the 82:42 minute mark with a goal from sophomore defender Marcela Ramirez. It was Ramirez’s first career collegiate goal.

Cougars Head Coach Tony Tommasi praised the Vaqueros and his young team.

“They did the job and that’s what counts the most, credit to their program, credit to their players,” Tommasi said about the Vaqueros. “We’re a very young team and, hopefully, we learned some positive lessons here, given the defeat.”

The game today was a rebound for the Vaqueros from Friday’s 1-0 loss against the University of Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos.

After earning their first conference win of the season, UTRGV will look to carry momentum on the road next Friday at University of Missouri-Kansas City.  The next home game for women’s soccer will be at 7 p.m. Oct. 31 against the New Mexico State University Aggies.