STATESBORO, Ga. – Senior forward Mady Soumare knocked home the match-winner nearly 15 minutes into the second half as Texas State went on to claim a 1-0 victory Thursday night over Georgia Southern at Bo Pitts Field. It was the Bobcats' second ever win over the Eagles on the road.
 
With the result, Texas State improved to 4-2-3 overall and 1-0-1 in the Sun Belt Conference while Georgia Southern drops to 2-6-2 on the year and 0-1-1 in league action.
 
"I don't think we played very well in the first half. We had our moments but needed to be better in the final third. The second half was much better and I thought we put together a really nice play to score our goal," said head coach Steve Holeman. "Road wins are never easy and this was a very important three points. So overall I'm happy with the performance."
 
The hosts held a slim 12-11 advantage in shots while the Bobcats outshot the Eagles 9-5 in the second half. Both Katrin Agustsdottir and Victoria Meza paced the team with three shots apiece. Soumare placed both of her shot attempts on frame.
 
Brooklyn Escobar made four saves on the night with three coming in the final 45 minutes of action. The shutout was the first of the freshman's career.
 
While TXST held possession for most of the first half, it would be Georgia Southern peppering the goal with seven shots. However, only one of the attempts was on target. That came from Olivia Golden in the 33rd minute from 30 yards out.
 
Soumare's first shot attempt of the match came late in the 49th minute. She received a pass from Matsuri Tsutsui and spun a defender for an open look. The Parisian's low shot was smothered by the goalkeeper.
 
In the middle of the 60th minute, a clearance attempt was corralled by Tsutsui. The freshman passed to Alormenu, who drove to the top of the 18-yard box. She dumped the ball off to Agustsdottir for a give-and-go. The Ghana then sent a short, low cross to Soumare, who had position on a defender and knocked the ball inside the left post for her second goal of the season.
 
A late attempt by Paisley Cathey from 10 yards out was smashed low on the ground. Escobar dove and caught the ball to preserve the shutout.
 
Next for the Bobcats is the Sun Belt home opener on Sunday. They will welcome Troy to town for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
 
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