Aug. 31, 2005

Box Score

DENTON, Texas - Texas State dropped its third straight game with a 3-0 loss to North Texas on Wednesday evening. With the loss, the Bobcats move to 0-3 to begin the regular season and have been shutout twice.

The Bobcats made eight shots on the evening, but were unable to convert any into goals. Elyse Ehlinger (Plano/Plano HS) made a team-best two shots and goalkeeper Brittany Beltramini (Keller/Keller HS) made 12 saves in the losing effort. Six other Bobcats made shots including Kayla Thornton (New Braunfels/New Braunfels HS), who has scored one of Texas State's two goals on the season.

Scoreless until the 35th minute of the first half, Angela Dawkins got North Texas (1-2) on the board. The win was the first of the young season for the Mean Green after they fell to UTEP and Eastern Illinois over the weekend. Goalkeeper Kandice Ellis notched her first shutout of the season.

Texas State coach Kat Conner is confident that her young team - Kristina Troxel (College Station/A&M Consolidated) is the squad's only senior member - will "get it," meaning that her game plan will come together and result in "fast paced, fun-to-watch soccer." "Right now, we need to find our center midfielders," Conner said, "and when we do, we will be dangerous because we can utilize the entire field of play."

With the loss, the Bobcats are now 0-6 in matches with the Mean Green. Conner, who was hoping "to get our first win over a team we have never beaten before," will have to wait until Friday to get another shot at that first win.

Texas State, the preseason favorite to win the Southland Conference, will play its first of only four home games on Friday evening when it meets UTEP at the Bobcat Soccer Complex (5:30 p.m.). The Bobcats start a nine-game road trip on Sunday at Rice University before coming home in early October.