Seven was the magic number for Sam Houston State’s soccer squad against McNeese State on Sunday at Pritchett Field.

In just seven minutes into the second half, the Bearkats overcame a 2-0 deficit to hit the back of the net three times before ending the game with a 4-2 victory.

“I thought we really started playing like them and that’s not the way we play in the first half,” head coach Tom Brown said. “When we started playing really the way we wanted to, and that’s what we told them at halftime, we started seeing positive results.”

Sophomore forward Allie Johnson opened the scoring show for the Kats when junior forward Ashley Alonzo slipped a ball to her streaking run behind the Cowgirls’ defense. Johnson slammed the shot past McNeese’s keeper for her third goal of the season.

Before the blink of an eye, Alonzo tied things up when she sent what looked like a cross into the box. The ball went untouched and found its way to the net.

Alonzo then completed the comeback with a booming shot to the upper-right corner of the net.

“Coming into the second half, I was like ‘come on, Ashley. You have to really pick it up. You have to do this for your teammates,’” Alonzo said.  “Luckily, we picked it up in the second half and got the win.”

McNeese had controlled the opening 45 minutes of the game, however. The Cowgirls saw goals from Sierra Sisco and Savannah Laricci. McNeese would not be able to translate the offensive success into the second half, being held to six shots with five saves from junior goalkeeper Kylie Hambleton.

Alonzo had the chance to score a goal before half when teammate senior Katie Ferrara was fouled inside the penalty area. Alonzo’s attempt went wide right, forcing the Bearkats to have to rally in the second half.

Johnson ended the game with her second goal of the match coming off a pass down the middle from junior midfielder Shelby McDaniel. Johnson took a shot that the Cowgirls couldn’t handle and then slotted a second shot past for the 4-2 win. The victory moves SHSU to 2-1 in Southland Conference play.

SHSU will finish their home stance Friday against Northwestern State. First kick will be at 6:30 p.m. at Pritchett Field.