TEXARKANA, Texas - The University of St. Thomas (UST) Women's Soccer team fell 1-0 to Louisiana State University-Alexandria (LSUA) on Thursday, Nov. 8 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) semifinals.
The Celts started on the front foot, hitting the crossbar in the 3rd minute and winning two corner kicks in the opening five minutes. At the end of the first half, LSUA had only one shot compared to 6 taken by Celts. Aeriana Lewis and Mariah Escobar led at the half with two shots each, with Sarah Zimmer and Alexa Noyola notching one shot each.
Celts couldn't find a breakthrough, however, and went into the half tied at 0-0.
The Generals broke the deadlock in the 60th minute after Generals forward Brandi Menephee pounced on a loose ball after a save by Celt's goalkeeper Jordan Thompson.
The Celts continued to apply pressure, and forced Generals' goalkeeper Cecilie Mortensen into four saves in the final 10 minutes, but were unable to find the back of the net.
The Celts outshot the Generals 13 -4 overall but only held a slight advantage in shots on goal 6 - 4. Lewis led Celts in both shots on goal (3) and total shots (5), followed by Zimmer who had three shots (2 on target). Celts also held the lead in corner kicks, taking a total of 5 compared to only 1 for the LSUA, but in the most important stat of all - it was the Generals who prevailed in the end.
"I can't say enough about our team coming together and doing something genuinely fantastic this season. Loosing in semifinals was nothing we could prepare for, and it's still unreal, but anytime you play in the postseason and don't capitalize on your opportunities, teams will punish you. LSUA did just that, and we have to give them a lot of credit as they earned their spot in the RRAC tournament finals. It's hard to evaluate things at this point with a clear head, but I expect that in time we all will be able to look back at what we have done this year and get a great sense of accomplishment to go along with a massive smile on our face," said Coach Nikola Barjaktarevic.
It was just the third loss of a historic season for the Celts, who finished RRAC conference play undefeated (10-0-1) and won the RRAC regular Season Championship for the first time in program history. The Celts finished 12-3-1 overall.
The team's run this season came in the wake of the program's first RRAC Championship first time qualifying for the national tournament in 2017.
"The hardest thing after the final whistle was talking to our seniors, knowing this was their last collegiate game wearing Celt red... The only thing we can do is hold our heads up high knowing we did our best, worked hard and left everything on the field." Seniors Emma Pinkerton, Shadel Cyrus, Celeste Black, Mariah Escobar, Rachael Bell, Kathryne Padgett, Alyssa Miranda, Siobhan Higgins, and Alexa Noyola left a significant imprint on the program. They led the team that in the last five years made every postseason tournament; making it to the 3 RRAC Tournament Finals, winning the tournament championship in 2017 (as well as qualifying to the NAIA National Tournament), as well as winning the 2018 RRAC Regular Season Championship.
Next year, the Celts will move from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and join Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The team graduates nine seniors, but the future is bright, says Head Coach Nikola Barjaktarevic.
