ABILENE, Texas – TSU soccer fell victim to a four-goal first half by Abilene Christian en route to a 5-0 loss on Sunday.

ACU scored twice in the opening six minutes to take control early. The Wildcats added a third goal in the 23rd minute and then pushed the advantage to 4-0 with a goal just before halftime.

"Another tough Sunday game for us," said head coach Danesha Adams. "Unfortunately, I don't think we really made it off the bus in the first half. We weren't ourselves, and we didn't compete at the level we know we're capable of."

Abilene Christian added its final goal in the 57th minute of the second half.

"I thought we had a much better response in the second half," said Adams. "The group came out with more energy, more urgency, and competed much better. We have to find a way to put two halves together and give ourselves a better opportunity to be successful."

Texas Southern goalkeeper Alessandra Bastidas kept the Tigers within striking distance with 15 saves, while TSU finished with eight shots on goal. Ava Coverdale led the Tigers with four shots, including three on target. Alyssa Valdez added two shots and one shot on goal, while Gabby Gonzalez recorded two shots, both on target.

TSU generated 15 total shots and three corner kicks but was unable to break through against an Abilene Christian defense that recorded eight saves.

"Our biggest challenge right now has been having very minimal healthy players," added Adams. "Hopefully, with a full week to recover, we can get some players back and healthy. But I'm proud of the group for the response in the second half. Now we have to regroup, recover, and focus on SWAC. 

TSU is back in action for the start of SWAC play next Sunday at Arkansas-Pine Bluff.