HUNTSVILLE - Sam Houston State appeared headed for a shutout victory over Utah Valley in the Bearkats' final non-conference soccer match of 2009, but the Wolverines rallied for two goals in the final minute-and-half as SHSU escaped with a 3-2 win.
Shelby Grissett gave the Bearkats a 1-0 lead at intermission with a goal from 19 yards out on a long pass from midfield by Kirby Zak in the 38th minute. Zak and Natalie Pantel added goals in the 56th and 80th minutes.
Utah Valley's Katey Turner made a steal near midfield, cut between two Bearkat defenders and put a 17-yard shot into the right side of the net for the Wolverine's first goal with 1:14 seconds remaining. Jaime Lyons scored on another long shot with 30 seconds to play.
"Our young players need to learn it's a 90-minute game," Sam Houston head coach Tom Brown said. "We got careless and made a couple of errors at the end and they capitalized."
Grissett scored in her first action for Sam Houston in more than a month. Zak tallied on a penalty kick. Pantel knocked a rebound into the back of the net after a shot by Haley Rohlmeier bounced off a Wolverine defender.
Jenny Pence was credited with seven saves in goal for Sam Houston. The Wolverines took 21 shots while Sam Houston had 18.
"It was nice to get Shelby back in action," Brown said. "Hopefully this victory will give us a lift as we enter the stretch run in Southland Conference play."
Sam Houston stands 3-2 in Southland Conference with four matches to play.
The Bearkats travel to UTSA for a 7 p.m. match Friday, then face Texas State in San Marcos Sunday at 1 p.m. Sam Houston will conclude the regular season with a pair of home matches on Friday Oct. 30 when the Bearkats host Central Arkansas at 7 p.m. and on Sunday, Nov. 1 against Northwestern State at 1 p.m. Both matches will be played at Pritchett Field.
The top six teams in the final regular season standings qualify for the Southland Conference post-season tournament to be held Thursday through Sunday, Nov 5-8 at Northwestern State in Natchitoches, LA.
Admission to Sam Houston State home soccer matches is free.
Order tickets for all other Bearkat athletic events on the web at www.gobearkats.com or at the Sam Houston Athletic Ticket Office in Ron Mafrige Field House at Bowers Stadium. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ticket office telephone number is (936) 294-1729.
