The women’s soccer team blanked Schreiner University (SU) 2-0 on Sept. 9. The Saints improve to 1-1-1 while the Mountaineers fall to 1-2-1.
Head Coach Lee Williams said, “We started strong and capitalized on a well worked set piece to take an early lead. It is satisfying as a coach when something we have worked on a lot on the training ground comes to fruition. The performance today was ‘gritty not pretty’ but they showed on the field what it takes to be a Saint. The second goal killed off the game at a good time. The ideas are coming and now we focus on our execution. We work hard to win the ball and we need to be patient in possession and penetrate at the right time. I’m happy for the group and the ‘game changers’ were excellent today when they came on.”
The Saints wasted no time pressuring on offense. Sophomore Eleonora Diversi scored in the second minute with an assist from Leah Tapia. The Saints took four shots in the following 23 minutes while allowing only one by the Mountaineers. Dusty Van Huss took two shots in the last few minutes before halftime, and the Saints led 1-0 at the break. Aspen Ulibarri totaled two shots in the first 10 minutes of the second half, but neither were on goal. The first shot on goal in the second frame by the Saints was a goal by Angela Garcia. The freshman scored in the 66th minute to increase OLLU’s lead to 2-0. Savanna Serna was shown a yellow card at the 79th minute. Anisia Serrano had two shots, with one on goal, in the final six minutes. OLLU’s defense was solid and forced goalkeeper Samantha Valadez to only make one save. Valadez earned the win after playing all 90 minutes.
GAME LEADERS
Eleonora Diversi and Angela Garica – goals
Sara Garza – 2 shots on goal
Leah Tapia – assist
TEAM STATS
OLLU 13 shots/SU 6
OLLU 5 SOG/SU 1
OLLU 2 corners/SU 0
OLLU 4 fouls/SU 5
What’s next
The Saints begin Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) play at LSU-Shreveport on Thursday at 1 p.m.
