HOUSTON – The visiting Nicholls Colonels struck first with an early goal but HBU's
Ryan Ford and
Jessica Nevils netted second half goals to lead the Huskies to a 2-1 Southland Conference women's soccer victory on a hot Sunday afternoon at Sorrels Field.
Junior
Noor Abukishk got the offense started for HBU (2-10-0, 1-4-0 SLC) in the fourth minute, getting wide of the Nicholls (3-8-1, 0-5-0 SLC) keeper but her shot attempt was saved stopped by the back line for a team save. The Huskies earned a corner kick and freshman
Anna Briseno had an attempt on target that was stopped by Roosa Hurmerinta. HBU got another shot on target in the 11
th minute from
Whitney Johnson, also saved. Nicholls' goal came in the 15
th minute when a fortuitous deflection landed at the feet of Tessa Calabria who was able to quickly loft a shot over HBU keeper
Karla Ramirez to make it a 1-0 game. HBU continued to earn chances throughout the half, totaling 10 shots with seven on goal in the first 45.
In the second half, HBU was again on the attack with three shots and a pair of corners in the first 10 minutes. In the 56
th minute, Ford stepped up to steal an errant Nicholls pass and dribble into the box where she slid a shot right past Hurmerinta for her first collegiate goal. Just over three minutes later, a pass ricocheted right to the feet of Nevils who turned and within a few steps let a shot fly from inside the 18 yard box, glancing off a defender and into the net for a 2-1 Huskies lead. The Huskies had a number of other chances with 13 attempts in the second half but the 2-1 advantage held.
HBU held a distinct possession advantage over the Colonels and totaled 23 shot attempts to Nicholls' six. The Huskies put 11 of those attempts on goal while Nicholls managed three on target. HBU goalkeeper
Karla Ramirez finished with a pair of saves while Hurmerinta stopped eight for Nicholls. The win snaps a 10-game losing skid for the Huskies.
"Obviously it's nice to get a win," said head coach
Misty Jones. "We've been struggling to find the back of the net and to put together a complete game. At times, our soccer was fantastic today but not always pretty. It was good to grind out the win. The girls have had a fantastic attitude and mentality through the last few conference games, coming out on the other end of some 1-0 and 2-1 results, which is hard. It's hard to keep that positive mentality. They've done a great job coming out, working hard and doing everything we've asked them to do. It's nice to finally be rewarded for that."
The Huskies will have one game next weekend, hosting UIW on Friday, Oct. 11, with a 5:00 p.m. kickoff.
