A sluggish start made the SHSU Women’s Soccer team (0-0-1) drop its season opener 3-0 to the University of Houston Cougars on Thursday night. UH outshot the Bearkats 13 to 8, with only two of the shots being on target— compared to the Cougars seven. Both teams committed three fouls and had seven corner kicks.

The Bearkats seemed unorganized as their nerves impacted the first half. All three goals came in the first 30 minutes of the game from three different UH players. The scoring opened 10 minutes into the game when midfielder Kennedy Dahlin scored off an assist from forward Desiree Bowen. Bowen had an incredible game scoring the next goal and assisting the third goal which came from defender Morgan Goode.

The Bearkats were almost able to begin a comeback late in the first half when forward Brooke Jones had a one-on-one opportunity with the opposing goalkeeper but was unable to put the ball in the back of the net.

 “I was a bit disappointed with the first half,” head coach Tom Brown said. “It looked like we were playing really scared… and felt some disorganization on the corner kicks. I felt like the second half we responded much better once we began to press. We were able to create some opportunities.”

The Bearkats were able to defend more efficiently in the second half as they allowed zero goals on just eight shots.

“I felt a bit of nerves as they stepped back in defending and we gave them a lot of space, but I thought we did a better job of trying to step up,” Brown said. “We’ve got a good team, and I feel like when they play within their roles they do well.”

The Bearkats look to bounce back on Sunday when they face the Gonzaga Bulldogs at Pritchett Field in Huntsville at 1 p.m.