BEAUMONT, Texas – Just five days after closing out the regular season with a 2-0 road win over East Texas A&M, the fifth-seeded HCU women's soccer team knocked off the fourth-seeded Lions, 4-0, to kickoff the 2025 Southland Conference Tournament at the LU Soccer Complex and advance to the semifinals.
The Huskies' (10-8-2, 4-4-2 SLC) four goals were a season-high and the win was the team's third-consecutive shutout. HCU reached 10 wins in a season for the first time since 2018 when the Huskies finished with a 10-8-1 overall record.
HCU led in possession in the first part of the game and saw the team's first shot on goal come in the 11
th minute a corner kick led to some chaos in front the goal and
Olivia Rossman eventually getting an attempt on target but East Texas A&M (7-8-4, 4-2-4 SLC) keeper Gillian McKenzie was able keep it out of the net. The Huskies found their breakthrough in the 28
th minute on another corner.
Ella Remy sent the ball into the box and it bounced off a few players before
Bella Alamo sent a pass ahead to
Paisley Barela who quickly turned and quickly put it away pat McKenzie to the bottom left corner.
The Huskies faced increased pressure from the Lions in the latter portion of the first half but the defense stood strong and
Emmy McKeon came up with a pair of saves to preserve the 1-0 lead at the break.
The second half was all Huskies. Goal number two started with a nice build-up starting near midfield with a pass ahead finding Barela who had space to dribble to the middle of the field and blasted a shot to the low right corner and past a diving keeper to give the freshman a brace and the Huskies a 2-0 lead in the 58
th minute. Less than a minute later, an
Alexia Murillo free kick into the box found a leaping
Isabella Dillow who headed the ball just inside the right post for a beautiful goal and a three-goal advantage with just over 31 minutes left to play.
The fourth goal of the match came on an own goal in the 71
st minute. A cross from Barela was headed toward the far post by
Cloe Baugh and on Nya Mitchell's clearance with Rossman bearing down on her Rossman was able to get her knee in front of the clearance and redirect it into the goal..
Barela's goals were her first two of the season as she became the 13
th Husky to score a goal this year. Dillow now has a team-best five goals on the year while Rossman stands at three. Murillo's assist was her team-leading fifth of the season while Alamo's was her third. In goal, McKeon recorded five saves for her fifth shutout of the season and the ninth of her career.
HCU held a 7-5 shots on goal advantage of the Lions while East Texas took 14 total shots to the Huskies' 12. Both teams earned four corner kicks.
The Huskies will face the winner of No. 1 Northwestern State and No. 8 McNeese on Thursday, Nov. 6, at 4:00 p.m. in the first game of the tournament semifinals.
