FORT WORTH, TX - For a moment, a freshman was a hero.
Julia Soriano's goal was a piece of beauty, but the LSU-Alexandria Generals (4-1) had the last laugh with a 2-1 non-conference win at Martin Field Saturday afternoon against Texas Wesleyan (2-3).
Down 1-0 on a frustrating, hot pitch, a substitution bringing in Soriano for Savannah Barron mixed the offense up just enough to create a golden opportunity to strike. Barron, who has been a strong compliment to
Tameir Grosvenor,
Taylor Ross and
Danielle Trought up front on the regular this season - wasn't having an effective day as the Rams offense as a whole found little holes in the General defense. This could have been predicted - the Generals had given up just one goal all season long to any team not named defending NAIA National Champion William Carey.
Soriano paid the small sample of analytics available in the young season no mind, nailing a shot in the 74th minute just under the crossbar from about 10 feet out, sending Head Coach
Josh Gibbs and the rest of the bench to their feet. Trought assisted, bringing more good news for the Lady Rams; she had exited in the first half with a lower leg injury but was able to come back in and contribute to the comeback.
In the 84th minute, LSUA took all that joy away with an unassisted goal for Jordan Thibodeaux. A rare feat, Thibodeaux bent her corner kick from the left corner (shooter's perspective) all the way to the right post. Rams goalkeeper
Christy Zwart reached up to deflect it, but the wind picked up at just the right time - blowing into goal - and carried the ball passed her fingertips and into the back of the net.
It was only the Generals second shot in the previous 30 minutes, after the Lady Rams buckled down better defensively in the second half. Down 2-1 at that point, the Lady Rams never got another opportunity to even the score. Grosvenor put the only two shots on goal for TXWES that didn't find the back of the net, with five total bashes to her name.
The box score doesn't always tell the story. Notable performances included
Kaitlyn Finger, who came off the bench in both halves to provide valuable minutes in the midfield. The ever-solid
Katelynn Teufel provided stability as the Lady Rams tried to conquer the stingy General defense on the other side of the ball.
Similar to the weekend prior to Texas College, the Rams offense took its frustrations out on the Steers scoring 11 goals in the home opener. Paul Quinn could be the next team to feel the wrath of the offense when the Lady Tigers come to town Friday September 13 at 5 p.m. The Lady Rams have beaten Paul Quinn 10-2 and 11-0 in the last two seasons.
