Sam Houston State soccer's Mariah Titus has been practicing penalty kicks since she was a kid, preparing for moments like Sunday afternoon. After being fouled in the box during the 55th minute, Titus immediately hopped up, and put the PK past Texas A&M-Corpus Christi goalkeeper Megan Delaney for the difference in the 1-0 Bearkat victory.
“After missing the PK, I think against Texas State, I really worked hard on them,” Titus said. “I know exactly what I need to do and it's all for my team. I got the foul for it. The whole team has their faith in me and I have my faith in them. They trusted in me to take it.”
The goal was the senior's fifth of the season and moved Sam Houston to 5-4-1, including 2-1 in Southland Conference play. Meanwhile, the Bearkat defense held the Islanders (0-7-2, 0-2-1 SLC) to a season-low four shots including just two on goal.
The victory came after the Kats first quick turnaround in league play, and helped re-build the squad's confidence after dropping a 1-0 decision to Houston Baptist on Friday night.
“You spend all Friday and Saturday thinking about a loss and I didn't want to spend the next five days thinking about losing,” eighth-year head coach Tom Brown said. “It makes the weekend finish a little easier and hopefully makes training go a little better the next few days.”
In the net, senior goalkeeper Magen Ross moved to 3-0 on the season in her first action since shutting out Prairie View A&M on Sept. 13. Ross has allowed just one goal while logging two shutouts this season.
Sam Houston took 13 shots, including five on goal, led by a trio of shots from Titus and senior Shelby McDaniel. Junior Maddy Panozzo and freshman Micaela Birt each added a shot on goal.
“We'll continue to work on how we build things up and some individual defending issues we're having,” Brown said. “We'll continue to remind players what to do. We've created some great chances where we've gotten to the inline. In the first half, we weren't doing that, which is something we've continued to talk about.”
Sam Houston returns to play next weekend, beginning with a visit to McNeese State on Friday at 7 p.m. The Bearkats head to Lamar on Sunday for a 1 p.m. first kick against Lamar.
“I think as a team, we are really playing for each other. We know we have to come to every single game because it's anyone's game. We really worked our butts off and brought together as a team.”
