SAN MARCOS, Texas – Sophomore
Madi Goss recorded a hat trick and
Kiara Gonzales added a tally to propel the Texas State soccer team (8-1-2, 2-0-1 Sun Belt) to a 4-1 victory over ULM (9-2-1, 1-2-0 Sun Belt) on a hot Sunday afternoon at the Bobcat Soccer Complex. The hat trick was the 12th in program history and first by a Bobcat since Lauren Prater accomplished the feat against Georgia State on Oct. 23, 2015.
"I think it was a complete team performance. With how hot it was on the afternoon and how good ULM is as a team, we did a really good job of keeping the ball, spreading the field, and creating chances," said head coach
Steve Holeman. "It always nice to play in the lead. When we got the [first] goal, we turned around and got another one. We never let our foot off the gas. We knew at halftime, with the score the way it was, it was important to get the third one. Credit to this team for their effort and hard work."
Just over a minute into the match, Gonzales nearly scored when got her head behind a bad clearance that saw the Warhawks' Michaela Leal making a leaping stop to knock the ball out for a corner kick. Off that kick, Gonzales again headed the ball towards frame but it cleared out in front of the goal line by a defender and again went out for another corner kick.
That ensuing kick from
Juana Plata saw the ball come in just over a leaping Gonzales but was headed home by Goss at the back post for the early 1-0 lead in the third minute.
Gonzales would chase down a long ball from
Caroline Kirschner and won a corner kick. Plata sent in the ball in the 18th minute and found Goss. Her attempted was deflected into the air by the keeper causing backspin on the ball. As it was coming down and about to cross the line at the right post, the ball ricocheted off a Warhawk defender and into the side netting for Goss' second goal of the match.
The first 45 minutes ended with a shot from
Nia Chacon being stopped at the post by the goalie with one second on the clock.
In the early part of the 53rd minute, Gonzales got her head on a free kick from Plata that saw the ball go over the crossbar. Gonzales final found the back of the net a little over 30 seconds later when she put back her own rebound to increase TXST's lead to 3-0.
The Bobcats needed just under the minute to cap off their scoring on the afternoon.
Kamaria Williams sent a long ball down the field to
Haley Shaw in the 18-yard box. The junior midfielder sent a short pass across the frame of goal to an open Goss, who tapped the ball over the line for a 4-0 advantage and finish off her hat trick.
ULM won a free kick 20 yards out from frame. A shot by Inge Konst hit off a Texas State player and landed at the foot of Paula Guba as she put the ball into the back of the net for the final goal of the contest for either team halfway through the 62nd minute.
Over the final 28 minutes, the Bobcat defense held the Warhawks to three shots with none being on frame. TXST would take five attempts that saw three saved by the keeper. The best look came from
Abbey Miller with less than two minutes to play off a corner kick that saw the ball tipped over the bar.
TXST finished the match with 20 shots and placed 11 of them on frame. The Bobcats shot on goal total matched the total shots taken by ULM. TXST also ended the contest with 11 corners while conceding only one.
A match-high five shots and four shots on goal came from Gonzales. Goss finished with four shots,
Mya Ulloa had three attempts and both
Alexis Neal and Shaw took two shots each.
Plata's two assists on the afternoon are a career-high and are the most by a TXST player since Ulloa aided on both goals of a 2-1 win against Coastal Carolina in overtime on Sept. 16, 2021.
In goal,
Katelyn Chrisman made two saves to give her 30 on the season.
Next up for the Bobcats is the team's first-ever trip for a match in the state of Mississippi. TXST will take on Sun Belt Conference newcomer Southern Miss on Saturday, Oct. 1 with kickoff set for 12 p.m. on ESPN+.
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