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Houston suffers first loss of season

A 1-0 double-overtime loss to the University of Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners dampened the Cougar soccer team’s season opener Friday night at Robertson Stadium.

UTSA junior forward Veronica Najera paced the Roadrunners’ attack with six shots on goal en route to the game-winner just inside the penalty box in the 102nd minute.

With an assist from Roadrunner freshman midfielder Katie Dugan, Najera was able to muscle the ball into the back of the net from eight yards out.

"(The match) being our first game, we came out a little nervous tonight," UH freshman defender Stephanie Derieg said. "We need to work on the little details with both our defense and offense all working as one unit."

The Cougars had several opportunities to put the game away in the second half, but UTSA senior goalkeeper Rachel Francis made some key saves, including one against UH sophomore forward Lauri Byrne in the 63rd minute.

UH outshot the Roadrunners 17-12, and the two teams combined for 24 fouls in the contest. Sophomore midfielder Islara Rodriguez lead UH with four shots, while Byrne and senior defender Maegan Kiphart each had three, but Najera’s lone goal proved to be enough to send the scattered orange-clad Roadrunners fans home happy.

"We are disappointed with the result, but we are not disappointed by the effort," UH head coach Susan Bush said.

It was an effort produced by a roster abundant with underclassmen. There are 11 underclassmen, including six freshmen, compared to eight upperclassmen on the team, and chemistry may be the key to the Cougars’ success during the 2008 campaign.

"We have a lot of new players, and we have been going at this for only about three weeks now, so we definitely need to work on playing together as a team," UH senior goalkeeper Shelby Scott said.

Despite the Cougars being a young team, Scott said that her team put out a good effort in its first game of the season.

"(UTSA) pressured the ball really well tonight, but I thought overall my defenders played extremely hard and did a good job for me."

UTSA now leads the all- time series between the two schools 2-1. The Cougars face off against Sam Houston State at 7 p.m. on Sunday in Huntsville.

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