Huntsville - Sam Houston built a two-goal lead in the first 62 minutes then relied on its defense to hold off a determined McNeese State attack as the Bearkat women's soccer team posted its second Southland Conference victory 2-1 Friday at Pritchett Field.

Kirby Zak and Tricia Mallory, the Kats' two top scorers this season, each notched a goal.

Zak's score came at the 41:55 mark. Amanda Biega started the scoring play by winning a ball from a Cowgirl defender near the left corner of the field. Biega passed to Emily Edenstrom who one-timed a pass to Zak open just inside the six-yard box. Zak right-footed the pass into the net and Sam Houston took a 1-0 lead at intermission.

Two freshmen combined for the Kats' second goal in the 62nd minute. Gayle Ziegler made a steal near midfield and put a through pass to Mallory just inside the box allowing her to right foot in her eighth tally of the year.

McNeese struck back five minutes later at 66:56. Audrey LaLane powered a looping shot into the far side of the net from just outside the left corner of the penalty area. Alana Clark set up the goal with a pass down the sideline.

The Cowgirls thought they had a goal in the 58th minute as Hannah Hopson put a ball in the back of the net but offsides was ruled on the play.

Sam Houston out-shot McNeese 12-10. The Bearkats totaled nine cornerkicks while the Cowgirls had seven. Goalkeeper Jenny Pence was credited with five saves.

"We came out and competed well tonight," Sam Houston head coach Tom Brown said. "We scored two nice goals. McNeese did a good job keeping the pressure on us in the second half. We spent a lot of time in practice this week working with our back line and they did a good job."

Sam Houston upped its season record to 6-7-1 and stands 2-1 in Southland Conference play. McNeese dropped to 4-8-1 for the year and 1-1-1 in league action.

The Bearkats will play host to Lamar 1 p.m. Sunday at Pritchett Field.