Bearkats Clawed Their Way Over Bears 2-1
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr., SHSU Sports Informatio
Katie Ferrara and Kirby Zak each scored, then Sam Houston held off a determined charge by the top scoring offense in the Southland Conference as they defeated Central Arkansas 2-1 Sunday afternoon at Pritchett Field.
UCA had scored 38 goals in their first 10 games this season, but the Bears were held scoreless for 84 minutes by SHSU goalkeeper Kylie Hambleton and her Bearkat backline.
Ferrara scored at the 12:53 mark, the earliest goal by Sam Houston this season, for a quick 1-0 lead.
She intercepted an attempt by UCA goalkeeper Kelsey Gouchnauer to roll a ball out to one of her defenders and promptly put a shot from 19 yards out in the back of the net.
Zak fired in what turned out to be the match winning goal on a cornerkick from the left side to the far post.
Shelby McDaniel’s corner found Lindsey Posner who made a short pass to Zak.
The senior forward fired in her second goal of the weekend at the 58:33 mark.
UCA’s goal also came on a cornerkick as Elizabeth Bradley’s ball found Kristin Pollard at the far post and scored with six minutes to play.
Central Arkansas took 14 shots with Hambleton saving four.
Sam Houston now stands 2-0 in Southland Conference play and is 5-7 for the year. Central Arkansas drops to 8-2-1 for the season and 0-1-1 in league action.
“It’s huge to start conference play 2-0,” SHSU head coach Tom Brown said. “Our goal is to win all our home games and then try and pick up as many as we can on the road. Our tough non-conference schedule has really helped us. We played No. 16 Rutgers and tough opponents on the road like Air Force and UTEP. It really has made us play better and harder and it paid off this weekend.”
Sam Houston faces a long road swing next weekend, playing at Southeastern Louisiana, then heading to Oral Roberts.
SHSU Soccer Team Opens Southland Conference Play With Win
Courtesy: Paul Ridings, Jr, SHSU Sports Information
Huntsville – Two of the top four scorers for Sam Houston in its 10-year history of women’s soccer accounted for second half goals to lead the Bearkats to a 2-0 shutout of Nicholls State Friday at Joseph Pritchett Field.
The victory marked SHSU’s first game on the new artificial field turf at Pritchett and put the Kats at 1-0 in Southland Conference play.
Tricia Mallory scored the Bearkats’ first goal on a cross from Amanda Biega from the right side in the 55th minute. Less than three minutes later, Kirby Zak tallied on a long ball from Kayla Anderson.
Mallory now has 22 career goals to her credit to rank No. 2 in SHSU all-time scoring behind Raquel Bueno (27 goals from 2005 to 2008). Zak’s tally marked her 18th career score, tying her with Yoanna Garcia (2004-07) for third place in the record book.
Freshman goalkeeper Kylie Hambleton picked up her third shutout of the season, marking three saves on Nicholls’ eight shots. The Bearkats totaled 14 shots.
“The players really were excited about playing on the new turf here at Pritchett,” head coach Tom Brown said. “We created some good chances in the first half but couldn’t convert. But we had a good attacking mentality and were able to take advantage of some space on the right side. It’s good to pick up the win in our first conference game.”
Sam Houston now stand 4-7 for the season. Nicholls dropped to 5-6.
The Bearkats return to action Sunday at 1 p.m. at Pritchett, hosting Central Arkansas.
Bearkat Soccer Team Ready For 2012 Season
by Cheval John
After falling short in the semifinals in the Southland Conference Post-Season Tournament last year, the SHSU Bearkat soccer team is looking to make a statement in the 2012 season.
The Bearkats are returning all 11 starters from last year’s team that experienced the heartbreaking loss against Texas State Bobcats in the semifinals that went to a penalty shootout.
“It’s cool to have a whole group of us who stayed together through the last three seasons,” senior midfielder Kirby Zak said to gobearkats.com.
“We’re excited about starting our final season together.”
Zak, along with defender Kayla Anderson and forward Tricia Mallory were selected to the 2012 all-preseason Southland Conference women’s team .
Zak is ranked No. 5 in SHSU career goals (17).
Three of those goals were game-winners, including the one that came against McNeese State last year in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Mallory, a junior from Spring, is ranked No. 2 in SHSU career goals (19).
She led the team last year with 8 goals and was named the team’s “Co-Most Valuable Player.”
On the defensive side, Anderson started all 22 games last year and played a total of 2,051 minutes during her career as a Bearkat.
The Bearkats were picked to finish fourth in the conference by coaches in the league.
But they feel that they can finish higher in the league and make a run toward the SLC Post-Season Tournament.
“In our estimation, based on what have… I think we can finish a bit higher,” head coach Tom Brown said.
The Bearkats first game of the season begins tomorrow at 7 p.m as they play host to Texas Southern.