Unable to finish their chances, the Lady Lions soccer team lost their first Southland Conference game of the season to Abilene Christian.
On Friday, Sept. 27 the Lady Lions maintained their undefeated record in the SLC by adding a 2-0 win in the game versus University of Incarnate Word. However, the chain of victories was broken Sunday, Sept. 29 by ACU senior forward Andrea Carpenter, who scored the game’s only goal.
“I’m disappointed in the fact that we couldn’t finish the ball,” said head coach Blake Hornbuckle. “We created a lot of opportunities. We hit the post a couple of times. We just weren’t able to put the ball home. There was a force field in front of the goal today.”
Though Friday’s game ended in a victory, sophomore forward/midfielder Casey Peacock feels that her team fought much harder during Sunday’s game.
“Friday, we didn’t have our best game, but we grinded it out,” said Peacock. “Everyone gave 100 percent. Even if we weren’t all playing great, we all worked so hard, and that’s why we weren’t able to win. Abilene Christian is a way better team than Incarnate Word. I really think we played better today, it’s just that they happened to score, and we didn’t.”
Peacock feels that her team will use the loss as a learning experience and will seek improvement for future games.
“We’re going to keep working, and I think it’s a good, not good that we lost, but I think it’s a good test for our team, and it’s going to be able to show us where we need to go now,” said Peacock.
Senior forward/midfielder Kelsey Salcido expressed disappointment in the turnout of Sunday’s game but was confident in the team’s ability to come out on top.
“I’m a little disappointed,” said Salcido. “They got a lucky goal, and we couldn’t finish today. I think we worked hard, but our finishing needs to get a little better. We’re going to keep working hard this season, and that’s going to be our last loss for the season.”
The Lady Lions will return to the field against Lamar on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 1 p.m. in the Southeastern Soccer Complex.