SEARCY, Ark. (Sept. 14, 2023) – With the 1-0 win over Harding on Thursday night, the Texas Woman's soccer team officially recorded the best start in the 21 year history of the program.
 
Dating back to the first Texas Woman's soccer game in 2002, the Pioneers have never started a season 5-0. The former best start was when the Pioneers opened the season 4-0 in 2016.
 
TWU (5-0) broke the record with a close 1-0 win over Harding (2-3) on the road at Stevens Soccer Complex.
 
"I'm really proud of how our team gutted out a win today," TWU Soccer Head Coach Babak Abouzar said. "Tonight wasn't our best performance, but we stayed the course and found a way to get the result. Harding played well and made things difficult for us. A lot of our success tonight goes to our subs and our bench. We had key players come in and change the game. Our bench was also loud and very supportive. Those are the small things that make the biggest difference. Getting the shutout was also huge. We will rest up tomorrow and get ready for our last nonconference game against a very good Ouachita Baptist."
 
On their way to the 1-0 victory, the Pioneers also maintained their fourth clean sheet in a row, as Pioneers' goalkeeper Amanda Farris claimed her third shutout of the season. Farris and the Pioneers' backline have only allowed one goal in their first five games. Tonight, against the Bisons, the backline of Rylee Avery, Erica Brelove, Hayley Masoner and Karis Hickey allowed just seven shots and only two made it on frame.
 
Farris tops the leader board in three LSC categories: goals against average (1), saves (15) and shutouts per game (3).
 
TWU ranks first in the LSC in goals allowed with only one across five games.
 
The Pioneers and the Bison remained knotted at zero for much of the game. In the first half, the Pioneers had six looks, with Alyssa Striker putting one on frame in the 15th minute, but they were unable to breakthrough in the first 45 minutes of action.
 
Striker accounted for four of the six shots in the first half, and she ranks second in the LSC in the total shots with 17 on the season.
 
After the halftime break, the Pioneers returned with a vengeance looking for the go-ahead goal.
 
Just 30 seconds into the second half, Halee Avery hit a shot on frame, which was saved by Harding's keeper Maysa Willis.
 
TWU kept the pressure on offense and defense, as the Bison had two shots and a corner kick opportunity in the next 10 minutes of action.
 
Then, the momentum shifted, and the Pioneers took advantage. In the 59th minute, a Harding player was issued a yellow card, which set up a free kick for the Pioneers about 30 yards to the right of the goal.
 
Rylee Avery stood over and then struck the ball, sending it perfectly to the back post of the Bison goal. Giselle Gutierrez made her run perfectly timed, and one touched the ball into the back of the net to give TWU the 1-0 lead with her first career goal. The assist by Avery also marked the first of her career.
 
Farris made two big saves in the remaining 30 minutes of action to preserve the clean sheet and lead the Pioneers to the win.
 
With the undefeated streak on the season, the Pioneers are currently one of just 13 programs in Division II who are still undefeated. Additionally, TWU remains the only undefeated LSC team with no ties on the season.
 
TWU will close out their nonconference schedule on the road on Saturday, Sept. 16 at Ouachita Baptist at 1 p.m.