TXST SOCCER
Scoring two goals in the second half after trailing at halftime, the Bobcats knocked off the Georgia State Panthers 2-1.
Texas State improves their overall record to 6-23 while the conference record improves to 3-0-1. Georgia State falls to 6-5-1 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
“That’s the game we’ve been waiting for,” Head Coach Steve Holeman said. “I told the team we tied Georgia Southern, we didn’t play our best. We beat Troy, we didn’t play our best. Even if we don’t win that game [against Georgia State], we played really well for 90 minutes. We put together a complete game and we had to.
“Then to come back from behind, we created so many chances. Their keeper was phenomenal in the first half and kept us off the board. Congrats to her. But we found a way. We created so many chances, we possessed well, defended well and just really proud of the team for our efforts tonight.”
The Bobcats found themselves trailing 1-0 going into halftime after Georgia State scored in the 14th minute.
But Holeman didn’t worry about the team trailing going into the second half, knowing how good the Bobcats have been playing during the second half this season.
“That’s the nature of the game,” Holeman said. Sometimes we’re winning at halftime and we’re not playing well, and sometimes we’re losing, we’re playing really well, and that was the case tonight. We were playing as well as we thought we could. It was just a matter of continuing on.”
Having created several chances in the first half, the Bobcats finally had one pay off in the second half.
Sophomore midfielder Helen Almormenu scored off the assist from junior midfielder Victoria Meza and senior forward Mady Sourmare in the 57th minute, tying the game at 1-1.
The Bobcat defense held the Georgia State offense to just one shot on goal in the second half which was saved by freshman goalkeeper Brooklyn Escobar in the 66th minute.
“We just kept [the ball] in their own half [of the field],” Meza said. “Not trying to give trouble to our goalkeeper. Just keeping [Escobar] on her shoes and just watching the game. Then feeding [the offense] as much as we can to give them as many chances. At some point, [the ball] is going to get into the back of the net.”
For the Bobcats, that chance came in the 86th minute.
With the ball in the box, freshman Alexis Montgomery made a shot that hit off the left post of the goal. However, the ball found the foot of Soumare who quickly got the shot off before scoring the game winning goal for the Bobcats.
“When Alexis hit it, I was like ‘I need to follow,’” Soumare said. “During halftime, [the coaches] say we need to follow every shot because the keeper is going to make the save and someone will have to be there. I was there, the ball came to me and I was like ‘One touch’ and that’s it.”
Georgia State was unable to overcome the late game as Texas State came away with the 2-1 win.
The Bobcats will be back on the road Thursday night against Arkansas State before returning home Sunday against Louisiana.
