A flurry of early goals and a hat trick by sophomore Luanna Miessa helped Sam Houston State take the lead and never give it back as the Bearkats defeated Prairie View A&M 5-0, giving new head coach Tom Brown his first win Sunday at Pritchett Field.
The Bearkats, bolstered by the first career hat trick by Miessa, kept constant pressure on the Lady Panthers, out shooting them 40 to four.
The first goal of the game occurred a mere 5:09 into the opening period when Miessa took a pass from Britni Martin and scored to put Sam up 1-0.
Shortly after, Miessa struck again at the 6:19 mark when Bearkat’s goalie Jenny Pence punted the ball past mid-field and Miessa out ran the defenders to the ball, tapping it up and over the goalie to put the Bearkats up 2-0.
Another slew of goals would mirror the beginning of the first period, with Kate Wesneski starting the spurt by crossing the ball into the middle as Alison Oakland headed it into the net at the 40-minute mark to push Sam Houston State up 3-0. In the 41st minute, Oakland would be involved yet again as she assisted on Miessa’s third goal of the day and the completion of the hat trick, which pushed the Bearkats up 4-0 at half.
The drubbing of the Lady Panthers continued into the 2nd period as the Bearkats continued to bring pressure as they kept it on the Lady Panthers side of the field for long stretches of time and added yet another goal. In the 59th minute, a touch pass by Oakland found Nereyda Garcia breaking away and she buried the ball in the back of the net, pushing the Bearkats up 5-0.
After the dominating first half, the Bearkats pulled Pence and replaced her with Kelley Sikinger at goal. The Bearkat goalies only had to combine for two saves. Also in the 2nd period, Ramone Gordon of Prairie View A&M was given a yellow card in the 54th minute.
Throughout the game, Coach Brown made use of numerous substitutes to give valuable playing time to some of the young players. All told, 12 different players accumulated at least a shot on goal for the Bearkats with Miessa leading the group with 11 individual shots. The Bearkats also had 15 corner kicks compared to the Lady Panthers single corner.
Miessa’s hat trick was the 12th in the Bearkat soccer program’s six-year history. The win moves Sam Houston State to a 1-2 record overall and the Lady Panthers fall to 0-1.
The Bearkats will continue their five home-game stretch as they host Colorado State- Pueblo (1-0-1) on Friday at 7 p.m. at Pritchett Field.