CANYON, Texas (Nov. 2, 2018) – Playing in its second game in as many days, Texas Woman's battled to the end in a physical match against Angelo State, just running out of time in a 1-0 loss in the Lone Star Conference Tournament semifinal Friday night.
Freshman Jazmine Maxwell, who was named both the LSC Goalkeeper of the Year and Freshman of the Year by the league's head coaches, made it extremely difficult for ASU to find the back of the net. Just minutes into the second half, ASU's Avery McNeme put a shot on goal that was saved by Maxwell, with the deflection rebounding to Mackenzie Broderick whose shot was also saved by rookie keeper. But that second rebound fell to the feet of Trenaday Scott who made good on her shot at 49:02 to put the Belles on the board. It was the first time Angelo had scored on TWU all season in three meetings. The Pioneers had twice defeated the Belles with identical 2-0 scores in the regular season.
"The goal was just a bang-bang play and you can't ask Jazmine to do much more," Head coach Babak Abouzar said. "Credit to them for following the shots."
The Pioneers (11-6-3) kept up a relentless attack as the clock ran down in the second half, and it appeared as if they scored the tying goal. ASU (11-6-2) committed a foul in the 88th minute setting up a TWU free kick 35 yards out. Junior Maddi Nolton sent the ball deep into the box and freshman Riley Sutton headed it into the goal. But the celebration was squashed when the assistant referee signaled that TWU was offside on the play. They kept on the offensive but time ran out for the Pioneers with the 1-0 loss.
"I think out team responded very well with the adversity in the last 24 to 36 hours," Abouzar said. "It was close game, tied at halftime. We discussed that it was going to come down to one play. Angelo capitalized on their opportunity to score."
TWU was playing on less than 27 hours rest after defeating MSU Texas, 1-0, in double overtime in the tourney quarterfinal on Thursday at Pioneer Soccer Park. On the travel from Denton Thursday evening, the team's charter bus had mechanical problems which delayed its arrival into Amarillo into the early morning hours.
But they came out with energy and kept play in their offensive third for most of the first half, trying to work around the ASU defense. While they challenged the Belles, the Pioneers managed one shot, an on-goal strike from freshman Maddy Harper at 28:45.
When ASU went on the attack, the TWU defense locked in like it has all season. Maxwell broke up Mackenzie Broderick's pass intended for Scott in the 10th minute. Maxwell also made a huge stop off a bouncing ball sent in by Chloe Souza at 29:06.
ASU had four shots in the first period to TWU's one, and the game was scoreless at the half.
TWU tested the ASU defense right away from the second half whistle. Senior Libby Murphy's shot went just wide 45 seconds in, followed by a point blank shot from freshman Trinity Kaufman that was saved by ASU's Kira Miller.
After the Belle goal, the Pioneers continued to pepper the ASU defense, forcing them to block chances and give up corner kicks.
Abouzar made frequent substitutions, looking to keep fresh legs on the field. Freshman Kaylee Rekieta was subbed in and immediately got a look on goal. Sutton also came in off the bench and laced a shot at 73:10 which Miller saved. Seven minutes after she subbed in for Allie Chapman, Nolton got into position and landed a shot on goal at 75:49.
"We knew we were going to have to sub more often, and playing on turf is hard on players who already are hurting from a long season," Abouzar said. "We did a great job getting looks in the second half from a lot of players like Lauren Neely, Hannah Schneider, and Riley Sutton."
TWU tallied a total of nine shots in the game, five on goal. ASU had 12 shots with nine on goal. Besides Maxwell between the pipes the entire game, Murphy, Harper and junior Brittany Jones logged the full ninety minutes of play.
"We were playing against some wind in the first half, and then we tweaked some things at halftime, and did a better job implementing in the second half resulting in more shots," Abouzar said. "We put [Angelo State] under a tremendous amount of pressure."
TWU completed an incredible season that saw numerous school records set including most wins (11), most home wins (6), most shutouts (11), best winning percentage (.625), and most postseason awards (eight all-conference selections, two individual awards).
"Our team has definitely come a long way since the beginning of the season when we were one game below .500," Abouzar added. "In the middle of the season things started clicking for us, players starting getting more comfortable in their roles and our mentality just changed and it made us a very hard team to beat. We were unbeaten in our last seven games coming into this semifinal. I think a lot of our success can be attributed to our leaders – Libby, Britt, Maddi – and the examples they set and the players who are willing to follow these leaders."
The Pioneers say goodbye to five seniors who have had a major impact on this program – Murphy, Neely, Chapman, Lauren Bradford and Lucero Chavez.
"I want to recognize our seniors and thank them for the legacy they are leaving behind," Abouzar said. "Their work ethic both on and off the field that is something to be admired and a mindset they have set for the returners moving forward. They set the tone for our team-first mentality."
