FORT WORTH, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University women's soccer team (6-2, 1-0 SAC) took a 3-0 win in their Sooner Athletic Conference opener against Southwestern Christian University (6-3-1, 0-1 SAC) at Martin Field on Tuesday. The game marked a milestone for goalkeeper
Nikki Lockwood who set new school records with her 28th career win and 17th career shutout.
Lockwood (6-2) a junior from Arlington, TX, improved to 28-12-3 in her career. She has recorded a shutout in fully 40% of the games she has played at Texas Wesleyan with 17 shutouts in 43 starts.
Head coach
Josh Gibbs, a goalkeeper himself, was proud of his net-minder. "Those two records are serious business around here," Gibbs said. "We have always had great goalkeepers here. Brittany [O'Brien], Holly [Rowland], Katie [Houchin], and Aubree [Gallego] were incredible. That is rarified air when you top that list. I'm very proud of the hard work Nikki has put in getting to this point, but she and I agree that this is a team award. Our back line now and throughout her career deserve a lot of credit."
Lockwood needed just two saves to hold the record breaking shutout. Her counterpart Kaylie Naumann made five saves, three of them in the first half to keep the game scoreless at the intermission.
Kaitlin Bush took the pressure off when she scored twice in a 35-second span during the 60th minute. A corner kick from
Sabina Obidinski rattled around in the box before Bush cleaned things up and put the ball in the net. Bush wasted no time netting her 6th goal of the season. Just 35 seconds later, Shrareh Assadi played the ball in from the right side, and Bush pushed the score to 2-0.
The Lady Rams tacked on a goal in the 70th minute, when Bush assisted
Rawan Ashrawi's first collegiate goal.
"We got off to a slow start, but that is a good win and good to get our first conference win," Gibbs commented. "It took us a while to settle in although we dictated play. Give credit to SCU. They made it tough for us to execute, especially in the final third. I'm proud of the players for working through some frustration and sticking to what we do best."
For the game, the Rams outshot the Eagles 16-6. Texas Wesleyan also led 8-2 in shots on goal and 5-2 in corner kicks while fouls were even at 4-4.
The Lady Rams will return to action on Saturday, when they host Wayland Baptist University. That game is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start at Martin Field.
Ramblings
- The Rams are now 3-0 against SCU and 12-6-2 in SAC play all-time. Texas Wesleyan is 7-1 all-time against Wayland Baptist.
- Aubree Gallego (2011-12), Katy Houchin (2008-10), and Brittany O'Brien (2006-08) all won 27 games in their careers at Texas Wesleyan. Gallego and Houchin each had 16 career shutouts.
