HOUSTON – Playing on soggy turf on the HCU Soccer Practice Field following heavy rains on Thursday evening and another round of showers on Friday afternoon the HCU women's soccer team earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Grambling in the team's home opener.
The game got off to a slow start with the only shot in the 15 minutes taken from well outside the 18-yard box by Sophia Lezizidis of Grambling (1-1-1) and easily saved by HCU (2-1) goalkeeper
Terra Rybuck. The Huskies' first shot attempt came in the 16
th minute when
Haydan Erck curled a corner kick off the far crossbar that fell to the feet of
Alexia Murillo who had a shot blocked with a successive attempt by
Madison Stormberg off the rebound missing wide. Both teams finished the first half with two shots on target but found themselves tied, 0-0, at the intermission.
Rybuck was forced into her only save of the second half early on, stopping a Kennedy Farr shot to the bottom left corner of the goal in the 50
th minute. Near the end of the 53
rd minute, Erck delivered a free kick into the box where
Jasmine Diaz redirected a header on target but GSU's Kaia Bace was up for the save. The Huskies kept at it and broke through in the 73
rd minute when a turnover in the HCU attacking third fell to
Olivia Rossman who took the ball out wide and delivered a perfect cross in to Dillow and headed the ball past the keeper for the game-winner and her second goal of the young season. The HCU defense prevented any additional shots on goal by the visiting Tigers the rest of the way to preserve the shutout victory.
Grambling held a 15-13 advantage in shots attempted but the Huskies put five shots on goal the visitors' three. Additionally, HCU earned six corners to the Tigers' five.
Rybuck made three saves in her first game in goal for the Huskies en route to the clean sheet. Dillow, who also scored on a header in last Sunday's win at Tarleton, now leads the team with two goals scored. Rossman's assist, meanwhile, was her third of the season having helped set up goals on Sunday.
The Huskies return to the road on Sunday, Aug. 24, with a 1:00 p.m. matchup against Abilene Christian in Abilene, Texas.
