It was a genuine team effort, as the University of St. Thomas women's soccer team puts five goals past Lady Tigers of Paul Quinn College. This was a second road game for the Celts in three days and second consecutive shutout.
Senior midfielder Rachael Bell (SR/Houston, TX) was the one to serve a superb pass to Katarina Maksimov (JR/Richmond, TX), who slotted the ball past Tigers goalkeeper to make it 1-0 for the Celts. Lady Tigers defended hard and were a constant danger on the counter-attack. Jordan Thompson (SR/Spring, TX) was in goal for the Celts in the first half, splitting the shutout with Emma Pinkerton (SR/Kingwood, TX) who tended the goal second 45 minutes. Paul Quinn College couldn't find a way to break down UST's defensive line. Back four for the Celts played significant minutes in the last two games, not giving up a goal on this road trip. Sydney Wright (JR/Katy, TX), Mariah Escobar (SR/Houston, TX) centrally, alongside Kathryne Padgett (SR/Beaumont, TX) and Juliana Miguel (SR/Goiania, Brazil) wide, worked tirelessly for ninety minutes to ensure another clean sheet.
The second half brought a flurry of goals for the Celts who continued to work, waiting for their chance patiently. The scoreline could have been much different, but the ball that sailed over UST's Pinkerton bounced off the crossbar showing how dangerous Paul Quinn can be. This woke up the Celts, and after few waves of attacks that were denied by tenacious Paul Quinn defense, Narcedalia Yanez (SR/Channelview, TX) pounced on the rebound coming after the shot by her teammate Kennedy Sessions (JR/Spring, TX).
Goals kept coming, and it was time for Torri Dunn (FR/Keller, TX) to score her first collegiate goal. She picked up a loose ball some 25 yards away from the goal and chipped the goalkeeper, showing fantastic space awareness. Dunn didn't take long to add her second goal for the day as she ran on to a perfectly timed pass by Mariah Escobar to increase Celts lead to 4-0.
Yanez added her second, Celts final goal for the day. After receiving a pass from Dunn, she didn't hesitate, and her long-distance shot went into the net. "We have been working hard every day at practice and its showing. I have amazing teammates such as Jordan and Rachael that help motivate the team and myself," said Narcedalia Yanez, and added: "It feels great to go home with two more wins. Being able to contribute to the team by scoring two times gives me even more confidence, and I can't wait for our next game."
Celts improve to 6-2-1 (4-0-1 in the RRAC) and return home as they are set to host Jarvis Christian College (Thursday, October 13th, 5:30 pm at San Jacinto College – South Campus). They will be back at their regular venue Saturday, October 15th to face Texas College. This game will be played at Houston Sports Park, and kick-off is set for 5 pm.
