Everyone was ready to welcome back the lady Cougars Sunday at Robertson Stadium for their first home game in three weeks against the University of Texas at San Antonio. Everyone, that is, except the referees.
By 1:23 p.m., one referee was secured and by 1:36 p.m., so was the other. The game finally commenced at 2:01 p.m., a full hour after it was set to begin.
“It’s been great,” said head coach Chris Pfau. “It was some of the best soccer we’ve played. I think we’re closing the gaps between the let downs. We’re probably more consistent throughout the 90 minutes. I think it’s been a great four weeks, and I’m very happy where we are.”
The Cougars started shooting for a goal in the second minute and UTSA responded in the ninth minute with a rebound shot by UTSA sophomore defender and midfielder Charlotte Husoe, which resulted in a goal.
Despite several attempts from both teams in the following time, a goal was not secured for UH until the 20th minute by sophomore forward Kayla Walker after taking an assist from junior midfielder Kylie Cook.
The first half ended with futile attempts to score by both teams.
Despite the second half being generally dominated by the Roadrunners, sophomore forward Alexis Weaver secured a win for the Cougars with her goal, assisted by Walker, when the clock still held 17 minutes.
“We lost some of our rhythm having seven days off and from being inside a lot this week due to the weather,” Pfau said in a statement. “We still wanted to come out sharp, though. A sign of a good team is when things don’t go their way, they find a way to win. Things were not going our way, but we found a way to make it work and got the win.”
UTSA shot to the end, trying to net several attempts in the last few minutes and keeping junior goalkeeper Cami Koski busy until the final whistle.
“We got to find our consistence,” said senior forward Katelyn Rhodes. “We’re still working on that. It’s definitely gotten better. The past two weeks have been the biggest building weeks of the whole season. The good part is, it’s right before conference.”
In total, the Cougars outshot the Roadrunners by one goal and improved their standings to 4-4-0.
As of Thursday, the majority of the players injured before the season, including junior midfielder Natalie Juncos and freshman goalkeeper Lauren Blakes, have been cleared and will return to play shortly.
“At this point, we have everybody we should have,” said assistant coach Mike Stoerkel. “We’re not sure yet; we’ll see through this week of practice, so we’ll see how they will come back.”
