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LeTourneau University Athletics

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LeTourneau University, opens in new tab
Madison Urbana
Sul Ross State University Sports Information
1
LeTourneau LETU-W (12-5-1)
1
Sul Ross St. SRSU (9-4-0)
LeTourneau LETU-W
(12-5-1)
1
Final
1
Sul Ross St. SRSU
(9-4-0)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 OT 2 F
LeTourneau LETU-W 1 0 0 0 1
Sul Ross St. SRSU 0 1 0 0 1

Game Recap: Women's Soccer | | Contact: Matt Kinney, Sports Information Director, mattkinney@letu.edu

LeTourneau Women's Soccer Makes History, Advances In ASC Tournament

ALPINE, Texas – After just missing out on a golden-goal in the second overtime, the LeTourneau University women's soccer team made history by advancing in the American Southwest Conference Tournament on penalty kicks after finishing with a 1-1 draw at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas on Tuesday, October 30th.
 
LETU is now 11-5-2 overall and will play in the first semifinal of the 2018 ASC Tournament on Friday, November 2nd against Hardin-Simmons University. Sul Ross State ends their season with an overall record 9-3-1.
 
How It Happened:
  • Playing each other for the second time this season, neither squad would find many opportunities in the opening minutes of the game as possession would be traded on and off.
  • The YellowJackets would be awarded a corner kick in the 10th minute and manage to put a ball into the box that would give Keely Hayden a shot that would sail wide right as LeTourneau's first opportunity of the match.
  • SRSU would put up a shot of their own that would miss wide left in at the 16:48 mark, and would only take three more shots against the LETU defense in the first half.
  • Kara Gipson would manage to send a ball into the 18-yard box in the 30th minute that would find the head of Hayden who would send the ball across and into the back of the net as the YellowJackets would take a 1-0 lead over the Lobos.
  • Just two minutes later with LeTourneau sensing momentum swinging in their favor, LETU earned a corner kick that would give Hayden another shot that would be turned away before Gipson would hit the crossbar on a rebounded shot.
  • Despite the missed opportunities, LETU allowed just two more shots in the final 15 minutes of the first half to hold onto their one goal lead at intermission.
  • The second half of the match would see the YellowJacket defense have to step up multiple times in the period while facing 10 shots from Sul Ross.
  • LeTourneau goalkeeper Mackenzie Wilbanks would stand tall in net, turning away four shots in the opening 25 minutes of the second half.
  • Sul Ross State would earn a corner kick off a shot that would be turned away by Wilbanks in the 76th minute, and manage to put a ball right in front of the goal line that would be kicked around before being headed into the back of the net to tie the score at 1-1.
  • The Lobos would then get a chance in the 86th minute to score a go-ahead goal but be turned away to send the game to overtime.
  • In the first extra period, only one shot would be recorded by each team as very little offensive action was attempted.
  • LeTourneau would very nearly end things in the second overtime session, putting pressure on the Lobos with a shot that would require a save from Kelly Swenson before seeing a shot from Gipson go just wide to the left.
  • With no goal scored in the period, the match would go down as a tie and go to penalty kicks to determine who would extend their season to Friday.
  • First up in the penalty kick shootout, LETU's Reagan Sandford would put the YellowJackets up 1-0 after the first round by going to the lower right corner of the goal while Sul Ross would miss their first attempt.
  • Both the YellowJackets and Lobos would make their second attempt before seeing a pair of misses in the third round put the score at 2-1 in favor of LeTourneau.
  • Hayden would step up and drain her penalty kick to put Sul Ross in a must-make situation, but see the Lobos keep calm and hit their penalty shot to send things to the fifth round.
  • With a chance to win the shootout, LETU would miss and see Sul Ross send up their leading scorer Aylin Villalobos up who would send things to extra penalties after making her kick to tie the shootout at 3-3.
  • Following a two consecutive makes from each side, it would be junior Melanie Shempert who would hit her penalty kick to put LeTourneau up 6-5 and put the pressure once again back on Sul Ross.
  • Wilbanks would make a season-extending save to turn away Victoria Shelton as the YellowJackets advanced into the semifinal round for the first time in school history.
Key Stats:
  • Outside of the second half that saw the Lobos with a nine-shot advantage, LETU would manage to outshoot the Lobos 10-8 in the other three periods.
  • Sul Ross State would make the most of their shots however, putting up 10 shots on goal but saw Wilbanks make nine saves to keep the YellowJackets in the match.
What's Next?
Friday's ASC Tournament Semifinal match will take place at 5 p.m. at the Hardin-Simmons University Soccer Complex. LETU will face the stiff task of taking on number seven-nationally ranked Hardin-Simmons who won their quarterfinal match 2-0 against crosstown rival McMurry University Tuesday night. The Cowgirls are 14-1-1 overall this season and have gone unbeaten in their past 15 matches.
 
 
 
 
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