SCORING FRENZY

Bobcats score three goals in three minutes to capture season opener over McNeese

Scoring three goals in a span of less than five minutes, Texas State kicked off the 2023 campaign with a 3-1 win over the McNeese Cowgirls.

Junior forward Zoe Junior, who tied the game up in the 70th minute, said she was proud of her team for nabbing the win, after trailing 1-0 in the first half.

“It feels really good,” Junior said. “We have worked really hard this past week and a half to get here and start the season.”

With the Bobcats kicking off the season opener in 100-plus degree weather, in front of a crowd of 521 people, Head Coach Steve Holeman was happy to get the win.

“It is always good to get a result on day one,” Holeman said. “As the season gets underway, you’re never going to be perfect. We were tested defensively in our preseason games by TCU and Texas A&M, so this was a different test. We had to find out how to break them down.”

Facing some tough competition in the preseason against TCU and Texas A&M, competing against two of the top teams in the state, prepared the Bobcats on the defensive end.

“Those games helped us defensively,” Holeman said. “Any mistake we made, they (TCU and A&M) punished us for it. Defensively, we were solid tonight, and limited Mc-Neese to just two shots.”

Despite outshooting McNeese 11-1 on shots, the lone shot snuck past the Bobcat goalkeeper to put the Cowgirls up 1-0.

Despite trailing, sophmore Lily Erb and her team were not ready to give in.

“Our determination showed in the second half,” Erb said. “Going down a goal in the first half, we just kept our heads up. That showed a lot about our character.”

McNeese’s defense gave the Bobcats fits for the majority of the night, as Texas State could not find the net in the first half and early in the second half.

However, the Bobcats continued to grind the Cowgirls before finding an opening.

“We just kept our composure,” Junior said. “It was just about when to take our moments. When we finally figured out how to break down their compact defense, it really opened up a lot of opportunities for us.”

Following a pass by Bailey Peschel, Junior put the Bobcats on the scoreboard with a goal in the 70th minute, to tie the game up at 1-1.

“We work a lot on first post runs,” Junior said. “Bailey had that open space and I just darted for it.”

With the Bobcat offense struggling to find points, Junior’s goal was just what Texas State needed.

“It feels so good because our hard work has paid off,” Erb said. “We focus so much on finishing at practice. It wasn’t going our way in the first half, but we finally got it together.”

For Holeman, the goal was the energy boost the team needed.

“It certainly ignited the team,” Holeman said. “The bench was all on their feet and the team was super excited.”

But Texas State wasn’t done just yet.

Following two passes from Victoria Meza and Kennley Bradley, Lucy Hart broke the tiebreak with a goal in the 73rd minute as Texas State took their first lead of the game at 2-1.

Just 21 seconds later, Erb delivered the backbreaker ,by scoring a 20-yard goal to push the Bobcats over the top, and extend the lead to 3-1.

“I was staying strong and not letting the defender push off,” Erb said. “I took a look and saw the goalie was towards the near post. I just slipped one in.”

Texas State will now look towards Central Arkansas, another former conference foe, today at 1 p.m. at the Bobcat Soccer Complex. coltonbmcwilliams @sanmarcosrecord.com Twitter: @ColtonBMc