PINEVILLE, La. — Texas Wesleyan University (3-3-1) lost to Louisiana Christian University (3-2-1) 2-0 on Thursday. Texas Wesleyan finished with 16 shots and five corner kicks but was held to three shots on goal, while its goalkeeper made seven saves.
Texas Wesleyan went into halftime down 1-0 after Louisiana Christian scored at 30:01, despite creating a sustained attacking spell earlier in the half that generated five shots and two
Maribel Vargas corner kicks while the match was scoreless. Earlier,
Shannon Middleton and
Amelia Roach supplied Texas Wesleyan's first shots, and
Hannah Smith answered a Louisiana Christian push with saves on Maria White, Rose Blampain and Izzy Childs between the 13th and 15th minutes. Texas Wesleyan's pressure peaked later in the scoreless half with blocked shots from
Peyton Scott,
Sydney Chavez and Roach,
Heaven Villegas missing wide and
Sahara Gipson hitting the crossbar. After Izzy Childs' goal put Texas Wesleyan behind, Smith kept the deficit at one by saving Giselle Laing's penalty kick at 40:16 and another Laing shot in the final minutes before Texas Wesleyan reached the break trailing 1-0.
Texas Wesleyan pressed for chances in the second half, but Louisiana Christian added to its advantage on Maria White's penalty-kick goal at 77:05, making it 2-0. Earlier, Texas Wesleyan generated pressure through two corner kicks, with Gipson serving one in the 68th minute and Vargas taking another in the 71st before Scott's header went wide left. Vargas put a shot on frame in the 75th minute, and Texas Wesleyan continued to answer after the penalty as Villegas and
Jessica Jones each forced saves from Sara Mendivelso. Smith made saves in the 87th and 90th minutes to keep Texas Wesleyan within the same margin, and the match finished with Louisiana Christian ahead 2-0.
Smith recorded seven saves over 90 minutes in goal. Vargas tied for the team lead with three shots and put one attempt on goal. Villegas added two shots, including one on goal.
The Rams stay on the road as they travel to Alexandria, LA to take on LSU-Alexandria on Saturday, September 19, at 12pm.
