FORT WORTH, TX: Ram Fans, meet
Theresa Garsztecki. The Texas Wesleyan University women's soccer team (1-0) took a 3-1 win over Howard Payne University in their season opener thanks to a hat trick from Garsztecki in her Texas Wesleyan debut.
"Theresa was outstanding tonight," commented head coach
Josh Gibbs. "Not just the three goals, but she was the engine that ran the show tonight. We lost some tremendous players from last year, and it was nice to see someone just step right in like that."
The Lady Rams had their focus tested on Saturday night. Just over three minutes before game time, the action was delayed by lightning in the area. Although only intermittent light rain fell at Martin Field, lightning delayed the kickoff by 1:48.
When the game did get underway, an aggressive Howard Payne team put the Rams under pressure early. In the 27th minute,
Nikki Lockwood came to the top of the box to meet Dayane Gutierrez on a breakaway. Lockwood saved the shot, but the rebound landed at the feet of Lynsie Anderson who hit a wide open net for a 1-0 Yellowjacket lead.
Six minutes later,
Amber Galvan kept the ball alive for Texas Wesleyan at the top of the box and Garsztecki, a junior transfer from Cologne, Germany, ripped a booming shot for her first goal of the season. In the 37th minute Garsztecki scored from the top of the box again, and seconds later the lights at Martin Field went out. The brief power outage caused a 21 minute delay in the action with 7:44 on the clock.
The Lady Rams limited HPU to just five shots in the second half. In the 69th minute Kristy Melendez got the ball past Lockwood, but
Amber Leachman cleared the ball at the last second to save a game-tying goal.
"I was pleased with the fight from our girls tonight," Gibbs said. "We got ourselves into some tough positions, but we always fought our way out."
Garsztecki gave the Rams some breathing room in the 85th minute when she knocked in a free kick from the far left wing, scoring for the third time from outside the box.
"That was the best Howard Payne team we have faced," Gibbs continued. "They are hardworking, dangerous, and very well coached. Our girls never gave up, and I'm really proud of them for that. It's a process, and we have plenty of work to do, but we can take a lot of positives away from the result tonight."
For the game, Texas Wesleyan outshot Howard Payne 24-12. The Rams also led 10-4 in corner kicks and enjoyed an 8-2 margin in the foul count. Lockwood (1-0) made five saves to preserve the win. Three Howard Payne goalkeepers combined to make nine saves for the Yellowjackets.
The Rams are back in action on Tuesday, September 4, when they make the short trip across the Metroplex to face Dallas Christian College. That game is scheduled for a 6:00 pm start.
Ramblings
- The Lady Rams are 8-0-1 all-time vs. Howard Payne and have never faced Dallas Christian before.
- The Rams have opened each of the last six seasons against Howard Payne and have gone 5-0-1 in those games. They are 7-2-1 on Opening Day under the direction of
Josh Gibbs and 12-4-1 all-time on Opening Day.
- Lockwood holds a career record of 23-10-3 and is just four wins shy of tying the school's career record for wins.
