Kats take opening scrimmage, 2-1
8/10/2015 10:50:00 PM | Soccer
Sam Houston State soccer freshman Micaela Birt made the most of limited time, netting the eventual game-winning goal in the 81st minute to push the Bearkats past Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 2-1, in the squad's first scrimmage Monday evening at Pritchett Field.
“I was probably more excited than I should have been during a preseason game, but it was my first goal for this team,” Birt said with a laugh. “I knew that Maddy (Panozzo) has crazy speed down the side and I knew she didn't have the greatest angle to shoot so I went in and if she plays it then I'm there.”
Of the seven freshman, Birt was one of several to see playing time, including Bailey Strong and Meredith Carlson, who each offered up a pair of strong corner kicks and Whitney Woodward who nearly netted a header.
“We wanted to get a lot of the freshmen in and get them to understand speed of play and what we're looking for,” eighth-year head coach Tom Brown said. “We want to see them early in the nonconference so we know what we can count on as we get into the conference.”
After falling behind nine minutes in on an Islanders penalty-kick goal, the Bearkats rebounded on a PK of their own in the 17th minute. Junior Allie Johnson, the Kats leading scorer from a season ago, lined a dribbler inside the post off the gloves of the A&M-Corpus Christi goalkeeper to knot it up.
“I thought we saw some good things,” Brown said. “I thought we created some good chances and had opportunities to get more goals both in set pieces and during the run of play. Finishing hasn't been a focus in practice yet … we've only done that one day. To this point, we've been working on creating opportunities which we did today.”
On a scorching day on the turf, the Kats saw seldom scoring opportunities in the opening 45 minutes, but that all changed in the second half, with an onslaught of shots on goal including a handful from junior Jordan Jarzombek.
“I think being able to get them in and remind them at halftime of the things we're looking for helped,” Brown said. “I think in the long run we saw some good things to build on.”
Junior Madison Cannon, a transfer from UCF, logged her first action for the Kats in competition, showcasing her ball control and ability to create plays.
“It was good, especially to come out with a win,” Cannon said. “I think during the first half we were a little frazzled and I think in the second half we slowed down and started playing our game. UCF was more fast-paced down the line whereas here we're trying to move it which is kind of what my strength was growing up in club soccer.”
The Bearkats return to the pitch on Friday, hosting Texas Southern in the squad's final scrimmage at 6:30 p.m. Sam Houston opens its 18-match regular season on Aug. 21 at Louisiana-Lafayette.
“We'll play a lot of different players (against Texas Southern) so that'll be their first chance to get in,” Brown said. “We're really trying to make this more of a marathon than a sprint and not get caught up in, 'I've got to do all these things at this moment.'”
