Arkansas State women’s soccer drops SBC opener at Texas State

Two Texas State goals in the first 20 minutes were enough as the Arkansas State women’s soccer team dropped its Sun Belt Conference opener 2-1 Saturday at Bobcat Soccer Park.

A-State (2-4-2, 0-1-0) was able to put the pressure on Texas State (7-1-1, 1-0-0) at the start of the match, with much of the play inside the attacking third. Sarah Strong got an early look on goal, but Bobcats goalkeeper Katelyn Chrisman made the stop.

Texas State turned the pressure on A-State in the seventh minute with a shot by Westyn Henderson being blocked. Addison Peters collected the deflection for the Bobcats and slotted it to the inside post for the marker and a 1-0 lead at 7:47 into the match. Zoe Junior of Texas State made it 2-0 in the 20th minute as she raced down the right side and put it away just inside the far post at 18:49.

The Red Wolves nearly got on the board early in the second half, earning a corner kick just two minutes into the frame. Emma Riales header off the corner kick hit off the cross bar and bounced straight down before a Kayla Thomas header went off the fingertips of the goalie for another corner kick. In the 71st minute, Phoebe Harpole had a great shot on goal, but Chrisman dove to her right and kept the Red Wolves scoreless.

Tara Lea got the Red Wolves on the board in the 78th minute with her second goal of the season. Haley Husted collected the ball on the left side and served the ball to the box where Lea got the touch to the far post past the keeper for the marker.

Olivia Luther started between the posts and had two saves on the four shots she faced. Demaris Deschaine played the second half and made one save. A-State finished the afternoon with a 13-10 shots advantage with an 11-6 edge in shots on goal. Texas State had eight corner kicks to the Red Wolves three.

The Red Wolves return to the A-State Soccer Park to host Marshall Thursday at 3:00 p.m. for the Sun Belt Conference home opener on ESPN+. For the latest on A-State women’s soccer, follow the team on Twitter (@AStateSoccer), Facebook (/AStateSoccer) and Instagram (@astatesoccer).

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