LAKE CHARLES – McNeese Cowgirl soccer (3-1-0) dropped its first match of the season Sunday afternoon, falling 4-2 to the North Texas Mean Green (2-1-0).
"I'm incredibly proud of the fight and grit this group showed today. We put ourselves in a difficult position early, but instead of letting that get to us, we continued to battle and fight our way back into the game," said Cowgirl Head Coach
Alexsis Cable. "In the conditions today, with the heat and humidity, it would have been easy to fold, but our girls never did."
North Texas opened the scoring in the 16th minute of play as Claire Niedermeier found the back of the net to give the Mean Green an early 1-0 advantage. Just eight minutes later, Niedermeier found the back of the net again in the 24th minute to give the Mean Green a 2-0 advantage over the Cowgirls.
Two minutes later, the Cowgirls would get on the board as
Sophia Hull connected with
Vitoria Mitre, who found the back of the net to cut the deficit in half at 2-1. The goal by Mitre and assist by Hull marked the first collegiate points for both players.
Shortly before halftime, in the 44th minute, Rydlii Rives found the back of the net courtesy of Anna Bewley to put the Mean Green up 3-1 at the break.
Three minutes into the second half, McNeese was awarded a penalty kick, which was taken by
Rhiannon Maynes-Tourond, who found the back of the net for her first goal of the season to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Niedermeier found the back of the net again in the 64th minute off an assist from Mia Bernard to complete the afternoon with a hat trick and secure the 4-2 victory for the Mean Green.
"Obviously, we're disappointed with the result, but I'm also proud of the way they battled and continued to compete until the final whistle," said Cable. "I hope what they take away from this is that we have a team that is willing to fight for each other, no matter the circumstances. Now, it's about learning from this experience, staying together, and responding the right way moving forward."
Match Notes
- Cowgirls dropped first match of the season to UNT
- Vitoria Mitre netted her first career goal in the 26th minute
- Sophia Hull was credited with her first career assist against UNT
- Rhiannon Mayne-Tourond scored her first goal of the season off a penalty kick
- 21 Cowgirls saw action on the pitch today against UNT
- Faith Curtis made her first collegiate start this afternoon against the Mean Green
- Celeste Marijnissen tallied a season high 10 saves on the afternoon while being the only Cowgirl to see all 90 minutes on the pitch
Next Up
The Cowgirls hit the road to Pensacola, Florida as they take on the West Florida Argonauts on Thursday, Aug. 27 at 12 p.m. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
