Sam Houston State soccer held a lead for the first time this season, but the Bearkats could not hold off Detroit's 2-1 comeback Friday in Austin.
Sophomore forward Micaela Birt struck just before halftime in the 42nd minute to give the Kats (0-3) the 1-0 lead heading into the locker rooms. She slotted a ball from 10 yards out between a Titan's defender's legs and into the left side of the net as senior winger Madison Cannon picked up her first assist of the season.
“I'm disappointed with the final result,” assistant coach Sarah Lowdon said. “We had chances that I thought we should have put away. We did a better job in the second half of moving the ball, and I thought we had spells when we looked really dangerous. There were definitely a lot of positives that we can take away from today and look to build on.”
The Kats saw its best offense of the season so far. Through the 90 minutes, SHSU more than doubled their season shot count, finishing the game with 10 shots and four on goal.
Junior transfer Beryl Smith continued her magic in the midfield, playing the whole game and leading all Kats with four shots.
“The last couple of weeks in training, we've been working on being creative in the final third, and I think we were able to see glimpses of that tonight,” Lowdon said. “I still think there is more to come.”
SHSU featured four new starters on the season in seniors Maddy Panozzo and Maddie Gangi and sophomores Meredith Carlson and Bailey Swain. The goalkeeper from Mabank was called upon three times and kept it clean between the pipes in her first appearance of the season.
In the second half, the Titans picked up the tempo of their play and their high attack left the Bearkats winless through three games on the season.
Detroit's captain Anna Mindling finished a cross past freshman goalkeeper Anna Kaiser inside the six-yard box from the right wing to even the score in the 70th minute. Suzie Redick then slammed the right-footed game winner from 15 yards out in the 81st minute to earn the Titans first win of the season.
“We are going to look forward to Sunday,” Lowdon said. “We know as a staff that the process is bigger than the product, especially with it being so early in the season. I'm confident that games like today are valuable lessons as we get closer to conference play.”
SHSU will continue its Texas Invitational 2016 quest Sunday when the team goes up against the College of Charleston. The 11 a.m. game will air on Longhorn Network and online through ESPN 3.
