DENTON, Texas (Oct. 7, 2023) - A true battle was witnessed at Pioneer Soccer Park on Saturday afternoon. The Texas Woman's soccer team recorded a hard-fought 0-0 tie against the St. Mary's Rattlers.
The Pioneers, who remain at the top of the Lone Star Conference standings, added another point after tying in a scoreless and very physical match against the second spot in the table, StMU. Even though both teams sit with conference records of 4-1-1, TWU owns the better overall record with a 9-1-2, while the Rattlers are 5-2-5.
"Today was similar to a heavy hitting boxing match. Both teams were fighting and scrapping for that first goal," TWU Head Coach Babak Abouzar said. "Our defense played really well today. Our intensity was really good in the second half. Rayne had a great shot that hit the post. Overall happy with the performance. We will rest up and get ready for a quality DBU team on Wednesday."
Statistically, the match ended as evenly as it could have. TWU recorded 14 shots with six of them on goal, meanwhile, StMU had 13 shots of their own - four of those on goal.
The Pioneer's defensive back line showed once again that they are a force to be reckoned with. The unit that has only allowed two goals in 12 games this season recorded another shutout game against the top goal scoring team of the LSC. StMU currently leads the LSC in goals with 23 total.
TWU sits second on the NCAA Division II goals against average board (0.17), only behind Concordia University Irvine who has allowed one goal in eight games.
The first opportunity for the Pioneers came in the 13th minute of play when Dani Pruitt moved the ball all the way down along the left side of the field. After a few touches inside the box, Pruitt sent a long and crossed ball to the other side of the box where Rayne Islas was able to head it in. The ball ended in Rebecca Difronzo's hands after a couple other shot opportunities from Alyssa Striker and Ailyn Oliveros. One shot after the other, fans could not stop cheering on the Pioneers.
In the 21st minute, Amanda Farris had a couple of great saves -proper of the top LSC goalkeeper. The Rattlers took a free kick from around 20 yards out to the bottom left corner that Farris was able to guess and dive in to stop. The rebound landed on another StMU player that took a second shot while Farris was still on the ground, but she was able to get to the ball and neutralize the Rattler's chance.
It was a very physical first half that left spectators wanting more.
TWU came into the second half with more intensity and created more opportunities. With 17 minutes left, Alyssa Valdez also had a great opportunity. Valdez took a long shot from the left side of the field from about 30 yards out that the Rattler's goalkeeper was not able to control, but none of the Pioneers were able to get to the rebounded ball.
The Pioneers recorded another three good opportunities after that, but were unable to capitalize on them.
Farris, who not only leads the LSC in goals against average (.169), saves (.944) and shutouts per game (.750), is also among the best goalkeepers in the NCAA Division II. The junior goalkeeper is currently second in goals against average among all DII programs in the country.
TWU has another key game ahead. They will be facing Dallas Baptist on Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. at Pioneer Soccer Park. DBU is currently third in the LSC with a 3-0-1 record. Next Wednesday night is also Hispanic Heritage Month night at Pioneer Soccer Park, so make sure to come have a fun night and support the Pioneers.
- PIONEERS -
