BROWNWOOD, Texas- The Howard Payne University women's soccer team (6-8, 2-5) conceded a late goal against the Hardin-Simmons Cowgirls (11-2-1, 8-0) that saw the Cowgirls pull away from the Lady Jackets late at the Citizens National Bank Soccer Field on Thursday afternoon.
In the opening 13 minutes of the match, Howard Payne had to dig in offensively. Hardin-Simmons came out of the gates swinging offensively by putting up nine shots. Eventually, the attacking effort allowed HSU to pull ahead when Lexi Templin scored in the opener in the 14th minute. Graduate goalkeeper
Landry Combs got a hand to it but wasn't strong enough to keep it out.
In the part of the first half, Howard Payne started to put it together offensively. HPU started to dominate possession through their midfield pivot of senior midfielder
Madelynn Harry and freshman midfielder
Hailey Swafford. Junior midfielder
Dakota McKee put up the Lady Jackets' only shot during this part of the match, but the pivot of Harry and Swafford reinforced Howard Payne's spine and made it much more difficult for Hardin-Simmons to play their game.
Going into the second half, Howard Payne had the momentum. Hardin- Simmons tried to counter this with a few tweaks to their starting 11. This didn't pay off for the Cowgirls. The Lady Jackets kept most of the possession in the Hardin-Simmons half; however, their best efforts from senior midfielder
Abbie Wetzel and senior defender
Madison Nance couldn't find the back of the net.
Wetzel came on in the 53rd minute, and the midfield pivot of Wetzel and freshman midfielder
Hailey Swafford was like an iron wall that operated just like the Swafford and Harry pivot in the first half and swept every action the Cowgirls through at them and kept the Lady Jackets offense ticking.
However, the Lady Jackets momentum was crushed after the Cowgirls found their second goal of the match in the 81st minute. HPU mustered up two more opportunities from McKee and Swafford, but neither opportunity proved to be fruitful for the Lady Jackets.
Overall, after the initial barrage of shots from Hardin-Simmons, Howard Payne kept pace with the team that is currently leading the ASC. Hardin-Simmons had nine shots in the second half, while Howard Payne had eight. Graduate goalkeeper
Landry Combs did her best to keep the game close, as she made nine saves in the match.
Up Next: The Howard Payne University women's soccer team will play its last home match of the regular season, when the Lady Jackets host the McMurry University Redhawks at the Citizens National Bank Soccer Field on Saturday, October 24, at 5:00 PM.
