Incarnate Word rolls past Lady Dustdevils 2-1

The battle between the Lady Dustdevils women's soccer team and Incarnate Word was fought Sunday afternoon, Sept. 23, at the campus field.

Incarnate Word defeated TAMIU 5-0 at their last encounter, so the Lady Dustdevils anticipated the homecourt advantage.

Before the game, Maxine Caballero, a three-year starter and captain for the Dustdevils, said, "We are ready to play and are happy to have our fans' support. Incarnate Word has shut us down in the past, but I know we have a great chance to score on them today."

The first minutes of the game were controlled by Incarnate Word, who quickly scored only 3:47 into the game with a goal by Lianah Flores.

However, TAMIU continued its game plan.

According to Sandy Hernandez, a sophomore for the Dustdevils, the objective was to "shut down Incarnate Word's midfield."

Though it appeared in the second half as if the Lady Dustdevils stepped up their game, Incarnate Word's Mallory Smith scored on a loose ball, making the score 2-0 with 25 minutes left to play.

Later, with five seconds left, TAMIU's Melissa Medrano dribbled the ball into the right side of the box and immediately became surrounded by three defenders. She was forced to turn to her right, while protecting the ball, and instantly spotted Hernandez at the top of the box.

With one second left and the ball on Hernandez's foot, time seemed to stand still as Hernandez brought her foot back and created a finesse touch that traveled deep into the right top corner of the goal. The Incarnate Word keeper remained motionless, and Hernandez scored.

When asked what was going through her mind, Hernandez said, "Incarnate Word is one of the top teams in the conference and is known for shutting out teams. However, I have always believed our team had the potential to score on them and beat them. Scoring on them today was not only an individual accomplishment but also an eye-opener to our team because we now know we can beat them in the future."

The Lady Dustdevils peaked too late in the game and lost 2-1to Incarnate Word, but Coach Anna Girdwood still had great things to say about her team.

"I'm so proud of our team's effort today," said Girdwood. "This is like a semi-victory for us because we have never come so close to Incarnate Word, and scoring in the last second of the game put a smile on the girls' faces and will hopefully carry on our momentum to our next game."