HOUSTON – Junior midfielder
Avery Cortez netted the eventual game-winner for HBU on a penalty kick in the 31st minute and finished the game with a career-high three goals while the Husky defense recorded a clean sheet in a 5-0 win over Prairie View A&M on Thursday evening at Sorrels Field.
Cortez, who opened the 2018 season with a bang by scoring the first two goals of her career in a season-opening win over Houston, picked up goal number one for the Huskies (1-0) after a foul by the Prairie View A&M (0-1) keeper inside the 18 yard box. The junior's shot was on target to the top left and gave HBU a lead it would not relinquish.
Fellow junior
Noor Abukishk pushed the lead to two less than five minutes later, slotting home a goal with an assist from Cortez. The Huskies took a 2-0 lead into halftime.
In the second period, Cortez recorded goal number two on the night thanks to an assist from
Ryan Ford who played a nice through-ball ahead for Cortez who snuck past the keeper and put the ball into an empty net in the 57
th minute. A pair of freshmen connected for the team's fourth goal with
Abigail Chi crossing the ball in to
Xya Balderas who picked up her first collegiate goal at the 71:48 mark. The hat trick was completed for Cortez in the 76
th minute, again slipping past the PVAMU keeper and hitting an empty net with an assist from
Jessica Nevils.
The Lady Panthers put a shot on target in the second minute with Kaelyn Carnahan testing HBU goalkeeper
Ashtyn Franks. Franks again made a save in the 15
th minute on a Sonia Fuentes attempt. PVAMU put a pair of shots on goal again in the second half but Franks made the save on the first attempt in the half while
Karla Ramirez, who subbed in, was up the task on the attempt she faced.
The Huskies were efficient in their goal-scoring, netting their five goals on nine attempts on goal and 14 shots total. Prairie View A&M finished the night with seven attempts, four of which were on goal.
"It was a good, complete win, which was nice," said head coach
Misty Jones. "Our back line was very good and it's always good to get the shutout. Our keepers did a good job. We were able to work the ball through the lines and scored some very good goals. Our percentage of goals scored of shots on goal was very good. It was good to see the finishing. We created lots of chances. Everybody got to play, and play significant minutes, which is really important for us early in the season. Our newcomers have been fantastic and that's been really good for us."
The Huskies are off for a week before taking to the road to start a four-game road stretch. That begins on Friday, Aug. 30, with a visit to Denton, Texas to take on North Texas at 7:00 p.m. Two days later, HBU will be in San Marcos, Texas to face Texas State at 7:00 p.m.
