HOUSTON – HCU women's soccer asserted control from the start and never looked back while earning a 5-0 win over visiting Nicholls in the team's Southland Conference opener on Sunday afternoon at Sorrels Field.
The Huskies (3-4, 1-0 SLC) started the offensive pressure early with three shots on goal in the first 16 minutes before
Mia Salas blasted a shot through traffic from just outside the 18-yard box that was too much for the Nicholls (1-9, 0-1 SLC) keeper to handle and crossed the goal line near the far post in the 17
th minute.
Xya Balderas got in on the scoring less than five minutes later when
Lauren Avila and
Emily Jaimes linked up to find Balderas at the top of the 18 where she sent a laser to the top right corner past a diving Elizabeth Zepeda for a 2-0 HCU lead. The Huskies peppered the Nicholls goal with 10 shots on goal out of 16 shot attempts while holding the Colonels without a shot taken.
Nicholls' first attempt came in the 49
th minute when Kori Ingram took a shot from outside the 18 but substitute goalkeeper
Taylor Sanderson deflected the attempt over the crossbar. HCU got goal number three in the 76
th minute with a beautifully orchestrated goal that started with a ball played deep into the corner to
Adi Radwanski who then passed to Balderas who delivered a perfect ball to the far post and a waiting
Alexa Huerta who headed the ball home.
Just over eight minutes later, Huerta was taken down in the box and awarded a penalty kick which she converted to secure the brace. The Huskies added a fifth goal off the foot of
Ryan Ford to the bottom right hand corner less than a minute later with assists credited to
Evelyn Slaughter and
Alexia Murillo.
Huerta's two goals give her a team-leading four on the season while Balderas now stands at one goal and two assists this year. The goals by Salas and Ford were their first of the 2023 campaign. In goal,
Chloe Bagshaw and Sanderson split the minutes with Sanderson making two saves.
HCU matched its season-high in shots, with 28, matching the total from the Huskies' last game at TSU. The team's 15 shots on goal was a season-high.
The Huskies' next game, originally scheduled for Sunday, Sep. 24, has been moved to Friday, Sep. 22, in Beaumont, Texas against Lamar at 7:00 p.m.
