University of Houston
North Texas
Soccer Falls 3-0 at North Texas
9/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
DENTON, TEXAS â€" The Houston Cougar women's soccer team dropped a 3-0 decision on the road against North Texas, on Sunday, in Denton, Texas wrapping up a weekend in which the Cougars went 1-1-0 after defeating Incarnate Word on Friday, at home.
"This was a good game for us as a program, because North Texas is a very tough, athletic and experienced team," head coach Chris Pfau said. "This is a team that will take advantage of your mistakes and will fight for everything. That is something we have to get better at and something we discussed in Utah."
The Cougars were unable to push across a goal in a defensive struggle that saw a total of just 10 shots-on-goal total between the two squads.
After the defenses controlled the first 20 minutes of the action, North Texas was able to find the scoreboard in the 22nd minute on a goal by Taylor Torres. Torress played a ball passed to her on a corner kick from the top of the 18 to put home the Mean Green's first goal.
Just five minutes later, North Texas found the back of the net for the second time in the game on a pass lofted into the box by Torress. Rachel Holden came down with the ball and was able to finish inside the box.
"We turn off with little things, and good teams punish you," Pfau said. "We played a decent game, but we made two bad mistakes on the ball where we just were not tough and they scored. We have to learn as we build this program how to compete for 90 minutes every game."
The Mean Green were able to add a third score in the 56th minute when Karla Pineda played a cross into the box that found the head of Holden. Holden was able to header the ball in for her second goal of the contest.
The Cougars were not able to find the net down the stretch despite a barrage of shots that included three shots-on-goal in the final 30 minutes of the contest. Selena Peters led the Cougars with three shots including one on goal, while Claire Salazar, Sevie Cole and Lexa Green also registered shots-on-goal.
"Hopefully this will continue to show us that we are close, but it is not about skill," Pfau said. It is about hard work and being mentally tough. If we can start to get that, and play our style, we will be fine."
UP NEXT FOR HOUSTON
Houston returns home to Carl Lewis Field on Friday, Sept. 11, when the Cougars square off against McNeese State. Houston defeated McNeese State 2-1 in Lake Charles Louisiana a year ago and hold a 5-0-0 all-time record in the series.
Following the matchup with McNeese State, the Cougars host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. The two squads have met each of the last two season with the 2014 version ending in a 0-0 draw, and the Cougars winning the 2013 edition (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's historical first match in program history) by a final score of 2-1.
The weekend starts a string of five straight home games for the Cougars that will also see Louisiana-Lafayette come to town on Sunday, Sept. 20, at 4 p.m., and then American Athletic Conference foes East Carolina and Cincinnati on Thursday, Sept. 24 ( 7 p.m.) and Sunday, Sept. 27 (1 p.m.) respectively.
2015 SHASTA PASS
The Houston Fan Experience Headquarters is proud to offer the Shasta Pass for the 2015-16 athletic season. For just $50, Cougar fans can purchase one Shasta Pass, which allows season-long general admission entrance to all Houston Soccer, Women's Basketball, Volleyball and Softball home games.
The Shasta Pass offers Houston fans a substantial savings as single-game tickets start at $8 for all four sports. Fans can save $126 alone during the Houston Volleyball and Soccer seasons. To purchase a Shasta Pass, CLICK HERE.
SINGLE GAME TICKETS
Single game tickets are on sale starting at just $8 for general admission. Faculty/Staff and H-Association member's admission is discounted to $6, while youth tickets (Ages 3-High School) are $5.
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