MOBILE, Ala. – A battle between two of the top teams in the Sun Belt Conference saw Texas State and South Alabama end in a 0-0 draw Friday night at The Cage.
 
"What a great soccer game that was tonight. Hard to believe it ended 0-0. I think that could've been 3-3," said head coach Steve Holeman. "We had quite a few quality chances in the first half but their keeper came up big. They made a good adjustment and had the run of play in the second half. The good news is we did enough in our first nine games to play for something next week."
 
The result sees the Bobcats move to 8-2-6 overall and 5-0-4 in conference play while the Jaguars are now 9-3-3 on the season and 5-1-3 in the Sun Belt. The six draws for TXST set a new program single-season record.
 
Brooklyn Escobar kept the hosts off the scoreboard midway through the 10th minute with a kick save off a close-range shot from Andrew Iljkic.
 
Late in the 19th minute, Constance Agyemang attempted a chip shot to try to beat the oncoming goalkeeper. Sierra Giorgio leapt and deflected the ball just enough to send it off the right post.
 
Alexis Montgomery sent a long ball towards the top of the 18-ayrd box that was headed backwards by a South Alabama defender deeper into the box. Positioning herself, Helen Alormenu nearly had a highlight reel goal with a bicycle kick shot that saw Giorgio making a diving stop to keep the sophomore from finding the back of the net.
 
During halftime, adjustments were made by the Jaguars that saw them control possession for a majority of the period. Off a free kick in the 54th minute, Bonnie Frost had an open look at goal at the left post but miss hit the volley to send it over the crossbar. Zamiya Hill nearly knocked in a shot nearly two minutes later but her shot from eight yards out clanked off the left post.
 
A long ball saw Iljkic split the defense to get to the ball. She took a touch to avoid Escobar to get an open look at the goal. Kennley Bradley recovered and made a last-ditch sliding tackle. She was able to get a touch on the ball with her right foot to redirect it away before both she and Iljkic tumbled to the ground.
 
The Jaguars outshot Texas State 20-7 but only had a slight 5-3 advantage in shots on goal. Alormenu paced the Bobcats with three shots while both Mady Soumare and Agyemang took two attempts apiece. All three placed one of their tries on frame.
 
Escobar made five saves on the night to record her fourth shutout of the season. Her shutout total is tied for the third most ever by a Texas State freshman.
 
Next up for the Bobcats is the regular season finale on Wednesday against James Madison. Kickoff for the match is set for 7 p.m. with TXST one win away from claiming at least a share of the Sun Belt regular season title.
 
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