LONGVIEW, Texas - Battling to a 2-1 halftime lead, the LeTourneau University women's soccer team would find a goal with just over 10 minutes left in the game to put away Highway 80 rival East Texas Baptist University by a final score of 3-1 at the LETU Soccer Field in Longview, Texas on Saturday, October 6th. 

With the win, LETU picks up a victory in their only match of the week to improve to 7-3-1 overall and 3-3 in the American Southwest Conference while avenging last year's 2-1 loss to the Tigers. ETBU now sits at 5-5-1 overall and 2-4 in the ASC after seeing a three-match win streak snapped. 

"That was an all-around team win" said head coach John Antonisse in a post-match interview. "We defended well as a unit and combined into the attack very effectively, kept possession, and scored three great goals." "Overall, we battled for 90 minutes and I couldn't be happier!"

How It Happened: 

• Watching their opponent push for opportunities on offense from the opening whistle, the YellowJackets would have to retreat into the defensive third and fend off five shots from the Tigers in the opening 10 minutes of action. 
• ETBU's best opportunity early on came off a shot from Jena Kucera that would hit the crossbar as LeTourneau would manage to avoid being put in an early hole. 
• Having survived the early barrage, LETU would finally get their opportunity on offense with a corner kick in the 15th minute to give the YellowJackets their first chance in the attacking third. 
• Following a shot from ETBU at the 20:27 mark that would go wide right, LETU would counter attack and push the ball down the left side of the field with Kelli Sonnier playing a ball into Reagan Sandford. 
• Sandford tapped the ball into the 18-yard box and then fired off a rocket towards the far post that would ricochet past the goalie and in to give LeTourneau a 1-0 lead 22 minutes into the game. 
• Just five minutes later it would be ETBU getting on the board following a failed clearance on a free kick that would be popped up over a trio of LETU defenders including goal keeper Mackenzie Wilbanks. 
• First half scoring would not be done however as LeTourneau would respond with a ball sent into the box at the 31:36 mark that found the feet of junior Lexi Funk who scored her first goal of the year to give LETU the lead heading into halftime. 
• Getting outshot 10-5 in the first half, the YellowJackets made it a point to play a more aggressive style on offense and force ETBU into the defensive third of the field as they took their first shot of the second half just 1:15 into the period. 
• Things would remain at a 2-1 lead for LeTourneau until the 79th minute as a Tiger yellow card would give LETU a free kick from 35 yards out on the right side of the field. 
• The free kick would be sent in by Kristen Wunder and bounce around before settling in front of Rebekah Stevenson who would power her way through and find the back of the net as the YellowJacekts would go up 3-1 with just over 10 minutes left in the game. 
• ETBU would get only one more prime opportunity to make some noise in the game as a corner kick would lead to a shot just before the final whistle with LeTourneau claiming the two-goal victory. 

Key Stats: 

• Making the most of their opportunities, LETU would be outshot by a 17-9 total in the game but held a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal. 
• Wilbanks played all 90 minutes in net, making one save to earn the victory. 
• Of the nine shots from LeTourneau, eight would come from starters with the only shot not coming from the starting XI coming on the goal by Funk. 

What's Next?
LETU will step outside of ASC action for their next two matches, starting on Tuesday, October 9th with a 7 p.m. matchup against Centenary College. The Ladies are 8-4 overall heading into a game on Sunday at Trinity University Texas.