The Lion’s Roar / Jay Love
Both sophomore defender Katie Noonan and junior goalkeeper Hope Sabadash missed extensive time this season due to injuries.
With one minute left in double overtime against the Houston Baptist Huskies, the Lions fell short in the Southland Conference Soccer Tournament.
The loss ended the Ladies’ season with a 12-8 overall record Thursday evening as Houston Baptist advanced to play Sam Houston State in the semifinal round on Friday.
Houston Baptist junior defender Blake Martin scored the first goal of the game during the 36th minute with an assist by freshman forward Ellee Hall.
Junior midfielder Gisenia Utreras scored her fifth goal of the season in the 64th minute off of a deflection. The score remained tied during the rest of the game.
It seemed as though the game would advance to penalty kicks similar to the final two matches in last year’s Southland Conference Tournament; however, Hager was able to head the ball into the net and passed sophomore goalkeeper Hope Sabadash during the 109th minute after being assisted by Husky freshman forward and midfielder Casey Basso. The last minute goal helped to advance the Huskies into the next round of the tournament.
Blake Hornbuckle, head coach, was pleased with his team despite the loss. The Lions ended with a shot advantage of 27-22.
“We played well tonight, but unfortunately, the results did not go our way. We owned the second half and created waves of pressures generating many opportunities,” said Hornbuckle.
Game leaders were Utreras with five shots and one goal, junior forward Kayla Vera earning six shots, sophomore forward Bri Singh with five and senior defender Chelsea Villaescusa with three shots during the game.
“Gisenia was excellent tonight. We were pleased with the efforts of Cheyenne Maxwell in the midfield, as well as Villaescusa and Jen Babcock in the back. Singh had another excellent night up top for us as well,” said Hornbuckle.
Lady Lions will lose senior All-Southland defenders Villaescusa and Babcock in the upcoming 2015 season, but the team will be reunited with several players. Junior forward and midfielder Casey Peacock was unable to play throughout 2014. Sabadash missed 8 matches after an injury. All- Southland sophomore defender Katie Noonan missed the final three games.
“We are definitely going to miss Villaescusa and Babcock. Villaescusa was the top outside defender in our conference so she will be difficult to replace. However, we are excited about the return of Peacock, Sabadash and Katie along with the further of our young players,” said Hornbuckle.
Hornbuckle feels the return of these players will put the Lady Lions back in line for a Southland title next season.
“The future is bright for our program,” said Hornbuckle.
For more stats and information on the Lady Lions’ 2014 season, visit lionsports.net.