STEPHENVILLE — Tarleton State dropped a tightly-contest 1-0 battle against Houston on Sunday afternoon at the Tarleton Soccer Complex.
The Cougars earned their first victory of the season to improve to 1-2-1. The Texans (1-1-3) hold the most matches played in the nation.
Mikayla Kendall set a season high with 13 saves, the second-highest mark in program history.
Jenaya Brown led the Texans with a pair of shots, both falling on goal.
Just 10 minutes into the game, Houston fired a shot off the corner of the post, but Kendall was able to corral the loose ball and prevent any rebound opportunities.
A few minutes later, the Cougars netted the first goal of the game, but it was negated by a Houston offsides call that kept the game tied at 0. The score remained deadlocked at the end of the first 45 minutes.
In the first half, the Cougars out-shot the Texans, 8-0, with five on goal. Kendall recorded five saves.
At the midpoint of the second half, the Texans nearly pushed across the first goal of the afternoon. A flurry of Texans caused traffic in front of the goal, creating an open shot for Brown. Brown’s foot nearly scored the first goal, but the Cougars keeper barely grasped the ball to keep the game even at zero.
Kendall kept the game tied at zero, and a diving save five feet out of the box. After a Houston corner, the Cougars nearly took the lead, but a diving Kendall found the ball in her fingertips to keep the game, nil to nil.
In the 83rd minute, the Cougars broke through to take a 1-0 lead. Houston’s Amanda Adams dribbled down the bench side of the field and fired a shot a Kendall. The ball kicked off pf Kendall’s body where Ramsey Davos was able to deposit the deflected ball into the back of the net to give the Cougars the advantage, 1-0.
Nealy a minute later, Reegan Wagg streaked past the Cougars’ defense to make the goalie the only defense. Wagg took it to the corner and found Macy Hellwig on the opposite side post. Hellwig’s header just grazed over the top of the crossbar, keeping the Cougars in the lead.
The Cougars held the advantage in shots (20-5), shots on goal (14-3) and corners (6-1). Houston’s Oliva Dietrich pitched her first shutout of the season.
Tarleton will take on a pair of road games next week starting at Prairie View A&M on Thursday at 7 p.m. and closing at Texas A&M-Commerce on Sunday at 7 p.m.
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