HOUSTON – HCU held a distinct advantage in shots attempts and scoring opportunities but trailed 1-0 at halftime before a pair of second half goals and a huge penalty kick save secured a 2-1 Southland Conference victory over visiting Northwestern State on Sunday afternoon at Sorrels Field.
In the sixth minute, an
Evelyn Slaughter header attempt went well wide of the goal and was knocked back to
Emily Jaimes who put a shot off the left post for the first real chance for the Huskies (4-8, 2-4 SLC). Over the course of the next 14 minutes, HCU peppered five shots on target but Northwestern State (4-9, 2-4 SLC) keeper Libe Banuelos kept things scoreless.
The Lady Demons managed just two shots the entire first half but they got on the board first with Emily Gundin and Caroline Hilliard connecting to set up Emme' Fernandez for a goal in 34
th minute. The Huskies put seven shots on the NSU goal in the opening half with 11 total attempts but trailed 1-0 at the break.
Less than 10 minutes into the second half,
Mia Salas let loose from just outside the 18-yard box with a shot off the right crossbar that bounced off a defender and fell right to the feet of Jaimes who slipped a shot past the NSU keeper to the bottom left corner to even the score with 35 minute to play. Less than five minutes later, in the 60
th minute,
Kat Lazor collected an errant NSU pass and dribbled forward into space before letting an absolute blast fly to the top left corner off the inside of the post and into the net for a 2-1 Huskies' lead.
HCU maintained its lead but it appeared in jeopardy when a penalty kick was awarded to the Lady Demons at the 76:50 mark. NSU's Taylor Spitzer took the kick from the spot, going bottom right but
Chloe Bagshaw laid out and denied the attempt, knocking it wide of the goal to preserve the Huskies' lead.
The Huskies held a 24-7 advantage in shot attempts with 11 on goal while the Lady Demons put just three attempts on target. Jaimes' goal was her second of the season and she now has two goals and three assists for the season. Lazor, meanwhile, went 50 games between goals when she scored this past Friday and today made it two games in a row for the senior with a score. Bagshaw earned the win between the pipes with a pair of saves.
HCU heads to Louisiana for a pair of games next weekend, first heading to Hammond, La. to face Southeaster on Friday, Oct. 13, before heading down to Thibodaux, La. for a rematch with Nicholls on Sunday, Oct. 15.
