After a convincing 11-0 victory over the Texas Southern Tigers, the Lady Panthers soccer team lost its last game of the season to the Dallas Baptist Patriots. The Lady Panthers entered the game on a six game winning streak, and a record of 8-2-1, second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s eastern division behind Grambling State. The Lady Panthers were 5-0-1 at home. The Patriots came in off a 7-0 victory over Delta State and a win to their 9-6-2 record.
The game took place on Wednesday, Oct. 27, at Prairie View A&M University. Game play started at 4 p.m.
During the first half, both teams looked energetic and equally matched on the defensive end. But the Lady Panthers seemed to get fatigued a lot faster and unfocused as the half wore on. The very fundamentally sound Patriots were not aggressive enough to take advantage of the Panthers in their weaker state. They would get near the goal, but could not finish off their drive with a score. SWAC soccer player of the week, goalie Amy Millar, kept the Panthers in striking distance as she saved all but one of the Patriots’ shot attempts in the first half. Although the Panthers looked exhausted towards the end of the first half, they seemed to outhustle and be more aggressive, especially on defense, than the Patriots. At the half, Dallas Baptist led 1-0.
After the half the Lady Panthers came out rejuvenated, but still not able to score when they got only a few feet away from the goal. The Patriots goalie saved every shot attempt from the Panthers, throughout the entire game, making this her tenth shutout of the season. Toward the end of the second half Dallas Baptist scored another goal, furthering the lead to make the score 2-0. The Lady Panthers did not give up, they continuously tried to push the ball up the field and get a goal, but were unable to before the end of the game.
Although the Lady Panthers lost, this game did not hurt their conference standing. They are tied for third overall in the SWAC conference with the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils (3-1, 8-6-0), behind the Alabama A&M Bulldogs (4-0, 7-7) and Grambling State Tigers (3-0, 13-6).
They had a triumphant season with a record of 3-1, 8-3-1. Player of the week, honorable mention Catherine Burnley, led the team with 14 goals this season, fifth in SWAC, Omotomilola Ojeshina had nine, and Nori White had eight. Ashley Molock, Brittney Joseph, and Sabrina Ball all tied with seven goals. Goalie Amy Millar, finished the season ranked third in SWAC, with five shutouts (Alcorn State, Southern, Alabama State, and two from Texas Southern).
The SWAC soccer tournament will be held Nov.4-7. Their first tournament game will most likely be against the mediocre Jackson State Tigers on Nov 4. The championship game will be played on Sunday, Nov. 7.