DALLAS – After inclement weather forced changes to the start time, the West Texas A&M women's soccer team used a pair of first half goals and key defensive stands to defeat St. Mary's in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. The 2-1 victory for the Lady Buffs moves their overall record to 14-3-4.
The teams struggled to adapt to the soggy surface as players lost their footing in the early going. St. Mary's found the game's opening attacking chance as Sydney Varela ripped a shot at
Reagan Heelan. Heelan kept the game scoreless as she punched the ball away and allowed her defense to clear the threat. On the following WT attack,
Asha James sent a shot at goal, but Rattlers' goalkeeper Rebecca Difronzo made a save of her own. St. Mary's saw the Lady Buff defense stand tall once more as the WT back line cleared away another Rattlers scoring chance a few moments later.
The Lady Buffs continued to search for lanes through the St. Mary's defense as the first half continued. WT created an opportunity in the 18
th minute as James found
Maria-Frances Serrant inside the box, but Serrant couldn't find a good strike on the ball as Difronzo made the save. The Lady Buffs broke through in the 27
th minute as James played a curling ball into Serrant. Serrant flicked the ball off her head, beating Difronzo to the far post. Four minutes later, the Rattlers took advantage of a defensive miscue by WT, tying the game at one. The Lady Buffs regained control of the lead just as quickly as the Rattlers tied the game as James found
Nicole Gray in front of the goal. WT held onto the lead for the remainder of the first half while outshooting St. Mary's 12-7.
Despite the conditions, WT carried over its momentum gained in the first half into the second. The Lady Buffs nearly stretched their lead to two as
Bailey Murray ripped a shot from outside of the box but watched it curl out. Missed opportunities by WT allowed St. Mary's to advance up the field, placing the Lady Buffs on their back foot. As the pressure built on the WT back line, the Lady Buffs held strong, keeping St. Mary's from finding another equalizer. With under 10 minutes to play,
Reagan Matacale looked to give the WT an insurance goal but her shot cleared wide of the post as well. As the clock went under two minutes to play, Juni Ejere watched her game-tying shot sail over the crossbar. Content with the one-goal lead, WT worked possession to run out the remainder of the time out and advance to the next round.
The Lady Buffs advance to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament where they will face off against the top-ranked team in the nation, Dallas Baptist. Kickoff is scheduled for Sunday at 4 p.m. at Patriot Soccer Field.
