In their last home game of the season, the Northwestern State University of Louisiana Lady Demons’ soccer team achieved a 3-1 victory against the University of Texas Grande Rio Valley (UTRGV) on Sunday at the Lady Demons Soccer Complex.
After the weekend win over UTRGV, NSU is now ranked second place in the Southland Conference (SLC) with two points behind conference leader, the Stephen F. Austin University (SFA) Ladyjacks. The Lady Demons brought high spirits going into the game against the Vaqueros to earn a higher ranking.
Nearly four minutes after kickoff in the first half, Taylor Spitzer, junior forward, got a fast break against UTRGV’s defense and scored the first goal of the game with the assist from Emma Pethel, freshman defender.
“I knew what this game meant, we were fighting for first place in the conference,” Spitzer said. “I knew this game we had to put some in the back of the net and win every 50-50 and put up a big fight.”
Libe Banuelos, senior goalkeeper, saved three of the shots taken on goal by the Vaqueros offense.
After getting the fast break down the line, Emily Senatore, sophomore midfielder, found her footing and scored the second goal for NSU after getting an assist from Pethel.
NSU managed another two shots on goal and UTRGV managed seven shots, but neither team could find the back of the net. The teams went to halftime with a score of 2-0, with the Lady Demons setting the tone for the first half of the game.
“We played with a lot of energy and the bench gave energy in terms of their constant yelling and energeticness,” Ian Brophy, head soccer coach, said. “I think that really translates on the field, but I thought the way we played in terms of keeping the ball and keeping control of the ball, I thought that really allowed us a platform to play with possession and score goals.”
During the second half, both the Lady Demons and Vaqueros went back and forth for possession of the ball. Senatore and Isabella Ruggiano, senior forward, managed two shots on goal, but neither Lady Demons could put it away.
The Vaqueros put pressure on the Lady Demons defense by taking two shots on goal. UTRGV’s Linnea Eld, sophomore midfielder, scored against Banuelos with the assistance of her teammate Sam Maudsley, senior midfielder. The Lady Demons kept their head held high as they looked up to see the scoreboard change to 2-1.
Following many substitutions for both teams, Paige Baugartner, junior forward, scored the third goal for the Lady Demons with the assistance of Spitzer.
“I continued to fight whether we’re down, whether we’re defending and when we’re counteracting plays and staying locked in and just fighting for every rebound,” Baugartner said. “The goal I had was just a rebound and I kept going until I got the ball in the back of the net.”
Both teams took shots on goal towards the end, but neither could put it away. The Lady Demons ended the game victorious with a score of 3-1. Brophy shared his excitement after the game.
“It’s a good win and puts us up to two wins in the weekend, one on Friday and one on Sunday,” Brophy said. “I think the biggest part is that they’re fighting for the conference championship now in the last home game of the season, so I think that made the team very excited.”
Brophy explained how the team is preparing for the last game of the season against the SFA Ladyjacks.
“We’ll have practice on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to prepare for Friday,” Brophy said. “We’ll get everything set up and watch some film and do all the things that we normally do to prepare, but we also don’t want to treat it any differently than a normal game, but I think it’ll be sticking to our usual routine this week.”
The Lady Demons now hold a record of 10-6-2 and look to pick up another win as they go head-to-head against the Ladyjacks on Friday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. in Nacogdoches, Texas. Following the game against SFA, the team will travel to Corpus Christi on Tuesday, Nov. 5 for the SLC Tournament.
