College soccer: UTPB women get much-need win

In the eyes of the UTPB women’s soccer team, it had played well enough lately to win. However, they were winless in their last five games.

So Saturday’s 4-1 victory over Texas A&M International at Falcon Field felt like the one they may have deserved in recent close contests.

“This was one they had to win,” UTPB head coach Dennis Peterson said. “They needed it.”

Even though it came against the team responsible for the Lady Falcons’ two Heartland Conference victories — and the last-place Dustdevils remain winless, at 0-14-1 overall and 0-8-0 in conference play — it felt good. It allowed almost the entire UTPB roster to play. It looked better than the other time the Lady Falcons (4-11-1 overall, 2-7-1 conference) defeated A&M International, 5-2 on Oct. 1, also UTPB’s last victory.

“A win’s a win,” Lady Falcons senior forward Brandy Watts said. “I’ll take it.”

Watts gave UTPB a 1-0 lead when she connected on a cross in the 23rd minute, one of Kaylen Gerkey’s two assists.

Though the Lady Falcons had 12 shots, seven on goal, they consistently had good looks, many by sophomore forward Hannah Dozier. In the 40th minute she broke away and had only the goalkeeper in front of her from 10 feet out, but her shot was too straight and was saved. About four minutes later, however, she faced almost the same situation and shifted right, waited as the goalkeeper came out, and fired it in for a 2-0 lead.

  “She was running out so quick toward me,” Dozier said. “The first time she ran out at me, she got it and I learned from that. Then I kicked it around and beat her.”

UTPB freshman Tesla DelaPena scored in the 57th minute and Gerkey scored her own goal in the 63rd minute.

It would have been a shutout had freshman goalkeeper Victoria Ramirez not mishandled the ball after a save of Sandy Hernandez’s, dropping it and allowing it to sneak in the right side of the net in the 84th minute.

It is rare that the Lady Falcons have a size advantage. Against the Dustdevils, they did, at almost every position.

That won’t be the case in UTPB’s remaining three regular-season games. But, Peterson said, because the winless stretch included a tie and a pair of 2-1 losses — including to visiting No. 16 Incarnate Word on Thursday — much emphasis will be put on the rest of the schedule.

“For me, we’ll have to win out to have a successful season,” Peterson said.

The Lady Falcons, sixth in the seven-team conference, seemed in agreement.

“We didn’t do anything different (Saturday),” Watts said. “We just found the net in some games and not in other games. We’re a good team. We always play good games. We just can’t finish them out. Just unlucky.”

Or young, Dozier said. Thirteeen of the 23 players on the UTPB roster are freshmen. Four are seniors.

“We have to get used to playing with each other,” Dozier said. “That’s where we’re at now. I know it’s late in the season, but it’s better than nothing.”