The Lion’s Roar / Tamara Alexandar
Junior Gisenia Utreras also played a role in the pair of victories. The Canada native scored twice in the Texas A&M – CC, as well as assisting in the only goal against McNeese.

The Lady Lions soccer team kicked off their conference play by dominating both Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and McNeese over the weekend.

The Lady Lions played Texas A&M Friday, Sept. 19 defeating them 3-1 and McNeese Sunday, Sept. 21 defeating them 1-0 currently standing 9-1 overall and 2-0 in the Southland Conference. 

“It’s a good way to start our conference play with a win. We came out, got a goal and went up 1-0 in the first half,” said head coach Hornbuckle. “We were pleased with the effort. We had the ability to keep the ball in their half of the pit a good bit of the time. Especially in the first half, really connect and find that real breakthrough going into half time. We are very excited about being 1-0. That means we have three points as we make our climb to get to conference tournament.”

In the game against Texas A&M, sophomore Bri Singh gave Southeastern the early lead with her 10th goal of the season. Sophomore Katie Noonan attributed assists on SLU’s first two goals, running her season total to a league-high nine assists in a single season. 

On defense, senior Chelsea Villaescusa, sophomore Alexsis Cable, junior Erin Christ and senior Jen Babcock limited the Islanders to just six shots on goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Hope Sabadash finished with five saves to claim her 22nd win in net as a Lady Lion.

Hornbuckle singled out a few players for doing a good job on the field. 

“Katie Noonan had a monstrous day in the midfield. Her throw ins were all kind of problems for the other team on the attack. She went ball after ball,” said Hornbuckle. “Cheyenne Maxwell on the midfield did a lot of work for us.”

Hornbuckle commended Gisenia Utreras and Kayla Vera for their work. He praised Bri Singh for her goal-keeping prowess.

“Bri continued to find the net. She has a natural goal scoring ability, and we are real pleased she put us up 1-0,” said Hornbuckle. “I think Chelsea Villaescusa, our right back, shut down in defending. She did a fantastic job of timing her tackles and getting us into the attack.”

The Lady Lions soccer team will continue to prepare for their next match.

“We will make sure that we take care of our bodies and minds and come out tomorrow and get prepared with another day of training and play on Sunday,” said Hornbuckle. 

The Lady Lions played McNeese Sunday beating them 1-0.  The back line limited McNeese State (3-5-1, 1-1 Southland) to just five total shots and one shot on goal.

With an assist from junior Gisenia Utreras, Kayla Vera scored the leading and only goal of the game.

Midway through the second half, sophomore Sabadash had one save before a collision knocked her out of the match. Sophomore Casey Jeanfreau took her place helping maintain the one-score advantage and keeping the victory.

“I think the fans really helped us a lot. Without them I don’t think we could have probably worked as hard, but thanks to the fans and our whole team we pushed to the end,” said Utreras.

The next home game is Oct. 10 at 4 p.m. in the Southeastern Soccer Complex. For more information on the Lady Lions soccer team visit lionsports.net.  

The Lion’s Roar / Tamara Alexandar
Sophomore Katie Noonan continued to be a playmaker in the midfield for the Lady Lions this past weekend. Noonan tallied a pair of assists against Texas A&M- Corpus Christi to bring her season total to nine.