TXST SOCCER
Following a tough loss to Arizona State last Sunday, the Bobcats bounced back to defeat the Stephen F. Austin Lumberbacks 51.
The win improves the Bobcats’ overall record to 3-1-1 while SFA falls to 02-2.
“We just took awhile to refocus within ourselves and just come to terms with what happened,” freshman goalkeeper Brooklyn Escobar said. “Looking over at maybe we made a mistake … We just realized we needed to come together and we did that.”
It was a bounce-back performance for Head Coach Steve Holeman and his team “That’s exactly what we talked about, bouncing back, being resilient and coming back from a difficult time,” Holeman said. “I thought we played really well for about 70 minutes. We came out, firing on all cylinders. I think what happened is we got a two-goal lead, then we got comfortable. We started to play a little sloppy and let them back in the game.
So we talked about that at halftime, and then the second half was all us. We very efficiently scored some unbelievable goals in the second half.”
The Bobcats got on the board first in the 7th minute when junior Constance Agyemang scored her third goal of the season to put Texas State up 1-0.
Texas State’s lead was extended to 2-0 in the 9th minute when SFA scored a goal in their own net.
The Lumberjacks answered back with a goal in the 21st minute, cutting the lead down to 2-1.
Holding on to a 2-1 lead at halftime, the Bobcats regrouped for the second half.
Freshman Katrin Agustsdottir scored in the 48th minute to put the Bobcats up 3-1 before freshman Matsuri Tsutsui scored her first collegiate goal off the free kick in the 64th minute to extend the lead.
Agyemang scored the final goal for the Bobcats, her second of the night as Texas State sealed the 5-1 win.
Holeman talked about the importance of striking first after coming out of halftime to put the momentum back on the side of the Bobcats.
“That was very important to get that early goal in the second half,” Holeman said. “That kind of took the wind out of their sails a little bit, because they were in the game, for sure. Once we made it 31, the game changed a little bit. So they still had their opportunities and had chances, and then we scored some great goals to put it out of reach.”
Texas State returns to play Thursday night to battle the Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners enter the game coming off a 3-0 win over Louisiana Tech, and will play North Texas Sunday before press time. Oklahoma also enters the game with a 5-0 overall record.
