The Sam Houston State women’s soccer team split on a weekend Southland Conference road trip, blanking Lamar 5-0 on Friday night in Beaumont and falling 4-2 to SLC co-leader McNeese State Sunday afternoon in Lake Charles, La.
Luanna Miessa scored two goals and assisted on a third in Friday’s victory at Lamar. The five goals represent the most goals a Sam Houston State team has scored in a Southland match in the team’s five year history. Miessa’s pass found Alison Oakland, who punched the ball in for the Bearkats’ first goal just 3:32 into the match. Yoanna Garcia scored at the 6:23 mark to give the Bearkats a 2-0 halftime lead.
Raquel Bueno scored seven minutes into the second half and Miessa added two more goals in the 86th and 87th minutes.
Goalkeeper Jenny Pence picked up her third shutout of the season, making two saves on Lamar’s 14 shots. Pence also shut out Houston Baptist and Prairie View A&M earlier this year.
The Bearkats totaled 17 shots with Miessa taking five and Oakland four.
Garcia and Oakland scored the Bearkats’ goals Sunday in the 4-2 loss at McNeese State. Garcia’s goal came in the 30th minute to tie the match 1-1 while Oakland scored on a pass from Miessa in the 89th minute.
Kamryn Koch scored McNeese’s first two goals, tallying in the 22nd and 53rd minutes. Sara Overfelt knocked in what proved to be the game-winner in the 81st minute and Cynthia Torris scored an insurance goal in the 87th minute.
The Bearkats out-shot the Cowgirls 18-12 with Miessa leading the offense with six shots.
The split put Sam Houston State’s season record at 4-10. The Bearkats stand in eighth place in the Southland Conference race with a 2-5 league mark. McNeese State and Stephen F. Austin are tied for leadership of the SLC women’s soccer race, both with 5-1-1 league ledgers. With the win over the Bearkats, the Cowgirls upped their season record to 9-4-4.
Sam Houston State will play its final two regular season games at home at Pritchett Field this weekend. The Bearkats host Nicholls State on Friday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. and Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 1 p.m. The Bearkats need to win both matches to qualify as one of the six teams in the Southland Conference post-season tournament, which will be held Nov. 8-11 in Natchitoches, LA, on the campus at Northwestern State.