The Sam Houston soccer team wrapped up their 2017 season last Wednesday as they fell to the SFA Lumberjacks 4-1 in the first round of the SLC playoffs.
The Bearkats kept the game tight in the first half. Sam Houston had many opportunities to score from corner kicks and move the ball down the field, but could not capitalize on those chances.
“I thought the team played very well in the first half,” head coach Tom Brown said. “We had some great momentum and just unfortunately, couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net.”
As the second half began, Sam Houston looked like they slowed down while SFA was only getting hotter. The Ladyjacks scored an early goal in the second half and never looked back from there. The Bearkats’ only score came from junior Carly English.
“I think when the second goal came for them early in the second half and they got the penalty kick right after, that really put a dent in the players’ momentum,” Brown said. “It hard was to come back.”
The Sam Houston soccer team must not see the season as a failure, however, if they want to get to the next step. In the 2016 season, the Bearkats only won two games as they went 2-16-1 overall. The team had a huge turn around this year as they went 7-9-2 overall and 4-5-2 in conference play.
“I thought we got better as the season went along,” Brown said. “We graduate two of these players but return a whole host of players who have fantastic experience.”
The Bearkats seem to have a bright future ahead of them. The best way to describe the 2016 season was a part of their growing pains. For the team to get better, they had to be bad. With a young cast of players, the team feels that they can only improve.
“There are a lot of new and young faces,” Brown said. “We’ll take the disappointment of today but I think that will help us develop as a team going into future years.”
The Bearkats will need to revolve around sophomore Carlota Suarez Crespo in the coming seasons if they want to compete for a conference title. Crespo transferred from Colegio Caude in Madrid, Spain back in April 2016 and has been an asset to the Bearkats. Crespo has been a key piece to SHSU’s bounce back season and was named Second Team All-Conference.
The team will look to jump back into competitive play in fall 2018.