A second half goal was the difference as TSU dropped a tightly contested 1-0 match to Houston Christian Sunday afternoon inside Durley Stadium.
"Obviously, not the result we wanted today, but our girls battled," said head coach Danesha Adams. "As we continue to build the foundation and core of this team, we have to learn how to handle hard moments better. There were opportunities today that we could have taken advantage of, and those are the moments we'll learn from and grow through."
The Huskies attempted to set the tone early offensively as they recorded four shots within the first 10 minutes. However, goalkeeper Alicia Audu was up for the task with a pair of acrobatic saves to keep the match scoreless.
TSU would begin to find its offensive groove as they began to penetrate HCU's side of the field on a consistent basis. HCU had an errant back pass and sophomore Savannah Muldrew stole the ball for a point-blank attempt but the ball sailed left in the 27th minute. Illena Guzman drew the goalie out on a shot attempt at the six-yard mark while Bianca Miller floated a shot over the HCU defense 25 yards out but the HCU goalie managed to record the save. HCU had another attempt late in the half but the ball sailed to the right as the half ended in a scoreless draw.
The Tiger defense remained up to the task to open the second half as HCU had several early shot attempts but Audu and the back line put forth their best effort to keep the ball out of the goal. TSU would begin to move the ball to the HCU side of the field from that point as Jiselle Caffey attempted a shot from the left side of the goal. Several minutes later, the offense sped down the field as Ava Coverdale had a shot attempt but the ball was blocked by HCU at the last second.
HCU would get on the board in the 60th minute as a corner kick led to a header which bounced in for a 1-0 lead. The score would hold the remainder of the match as the Tigers battled to the end on both sides of the pitch despite the intense heat.
Caffey, Coverdale and Muldrew all had two shot attempts while Adu saved six shots.
TSU is back in action on Thursday at Incarnate Word for a 6 p.m. kick.
"We'll regroup, get back to work this week, and be ready for another opportunity to bounce back against Incarnate Word," added Adams. "I also want to thank our student-athletes and our fans who stayed with us through the weather. We truly appreciate your support."
