Todd Ryals

Lady Wildcats Stung by Howard Payne

9/22/2017 5:00:00 PM

By: LC Sports Information - Todd Ryals

Box Score

Thursday afternoon would be a rough day for the Louisiana College Lady Wildcats in Brownwood under the Texas heat and strong gusts of wind. Two quick scores from the Lady Yellow Jackets of Howard Payne would be all that was needed to secure a win and move the Cats to 0-2 in ASC play.

The sunny two o'clock game would start off slow for the Cats, in the second minute an own goal would give the Yellow Jackets the lead. A quick cross from a Yellow Jacket across the box forced the LC defense to react and an unfortunate clearance saw the ball at the back of the net. The Cats were hit but they got back up and continued on with the game as if nothing had happened, moving the ball up the field.

The Yellow Jackets would not let up on the other hand as well, pushing numbers up testing the LC defense. A wide shot by Dayane Gutierrez in the 11th minute put the Jackets on the front foot. The next minute, the Jackets were back on the attack and this time would see their lead extended. Crossing the ball back into the box, Kacie Masters was able to find Rachel Crane on the back post and her right footed shot put the game away early in the 12th minute.

The Cats didn't go down without a fight though, mustering up their own response in the 17th minute. Freshman Taylor Aubert tried a right-footed shot from outside the box but Jacket keeper Nicole Goodwin was able to stop the attempt at goal and keep the Cats out.

The LC defense was then forced into action moments later after the Howard Payne offense gained two corner kicks. The first Tyla Tipton corner was cleared away, the second corner fell to Masters in the box but her shot sailed high. The two teams then went into a deadlock moving the ball from end to end taking any chance that fell to them.

Sophomore Wildcat Ashlynn Folse would work herself into a pocket of space in front of goal and fire a right-footed shot but the Texas wind got underneath it and pushed it high.

Five minutes would pass and the Jackets would work down the field into the Cats half, moving the ball around and earning a corner. Tipton would step up to the ball, sending it into the box and floating around the penalty mark, Stephanie Rike would put her foot through the bouncing ball sending it high above Haley Clark's goal.

Coming on as a substitute, freshman Felicity Hertzog set her sight toward goal and fired from distance, the shot was high and didn't trouble Goodwin. Fellow Wildcat McKenna Raines would try to repeat her long distance goal from two weeks ago with a shot outside the box but too much was added, sending the ball high.

The best chance of the first half for the Cats came late in the 45th minute after a quick counter off a Jacket goal kick. Gaining possession, the mid-field sent senior Jaime Trahan a well weighted pass setting her up to strike. Trahan's shot was heading for the far right post but Goodwin was quick enough to block the shot, taking the lead into the break.

The second half was faster paced with both sides opening up for shots. Howard Payne was first to try their luck with five shots within seven minutes of each other. Three of the shots never fazed Clark but she had to move for two efforts by Jada Austin and Dayane Gutierrez in the 58th and 65th minute.

The Cats would flip the field and have their own stint of offense in the 73rd minute. A headed effort by junior Shannon French and a right-footed volley by Trahan tested Goodwin's goal but both were off frame.

The Wildcats would be the more dangerous team to finish the game with three shots on frame, each by junior Bethel Chibesa, Trahan, and Raines, all three efforts were stopped by Goodwin. Trahan and Raines' saved attempts were in the last five minutes of the game making the attempts nail biting and hard to watch being stopped.

The Lady Cats fall to 0-2 in conference and to 11th place in the standing. They are back in ASC action Saturday against the Comets of the University of Texas at Dallas, kick off is at 2 p.m. For more on the Lady Wildcats follow them on FaceBook under Louisiana College Women's Soccer and Twitter at LC_WSOC.

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