Box Score
Box Score
Houston, Texas – The Texas State soccer team came out on fire in the second half, but fell just short to Rice, 2-1, Sunday night at the Rice Track & Soccer Stadium in Houston. The game ended a stretch of five road games in the first six for the Bobcats, who now have just one road game the rest of September.
Tori Hale scored the team's first goal just two minutes out of halftime. Jourdan Brown headed the ball at the goal and the goalkeeper deflected it back out. Jourdan Brown collected the rebound and tapped it back to Hale for the score.
The Owls collected the go-ahead goal two minutes later when Julia Barrow tapped it to Lauren Hughes in the box. Hughes put it past Gardini for the 2-1 lead.
The Bobcats had a chance to tie in the 57th minute, when Gabbi Cottee crossed a ball right in front of the goal and Lynsey Curry had a run at it, but was tripped up before she could put a foot on it.
Five minutes later, Hale started an exciting sequence. She had a shot that was saved but the keeper. The ball came out and Cottee put one on the back corner, but it was stopped on the goalline by an Owl defender.
Rice's goal came in the 30th minute, on a cross to the back post. Owl forward Holly Hargreaves charged the spot of the pass and one timed it past Natalie Gardini for the 1-0 lead.
In the fifth minute Rice crossed the ball into the box to set up a one-timer, but Gardini was able to make a sprawling save, keeping the score 0-0.
Gardini was up to the task again in the 25th minute, coming out of the box to jump on a lead pass intended for an Owl forward. She was able to get there just as the forward put her foot on it and secured the ball before any further threat developed.
The Bobcats will return to action on Friday at home against Central Michigan. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Kat Conner
On effort in the second half
“They've always played hard and played well. It's just sometimes we haven't gone in the mentality and focus on what we were doing. I thought this game we really came out with the mentality of knowing what we were going to do and doing it together. Players stepped to defend and others covered around them. That's what we've been talking about. I really believe they did that better in the second half. We got some really good chances out of it, we didn't capitalize on them but it really gives us something to go back and work on.”
On what to build on going forward
“My biggest complaint on Friday night was I didn't think we played as a team, we played individually. I thought tonight we improved it and came out as a team. From here on out we just need to do the same thing and keep the intensity and execute what we're trying to do. If we do that in practice, we'll do it in a game.”
