ABILENE, TEXAS – Ninety minutes of emotional, hard-fought American Southwest Conference soccer left fans breathless at match's end Saturday, Sept. 30.
Two of the league's and NCAA Division III Region X top squads went back and forth across the FieldTurf at Wilford Moore Stadium. McMurry University fans were at a fever pitch when junior forward phenom
Emily Holland (Mansfield, Texas) rattled the back of perennial rival Hardin-Simmons' net twice in just over 10 minutes of the first half. Despite having a 10-2 advantage on the shots column in the first stanza, the visiting Cowgirls were nearly shutout until a late strike into the left-hand side of the Maroon and White net made it 2-1.
HSU kept their momentum going into the early stages of the second half, scoring the match equalizer in the 51
st minute. From that point, each side had a chance for the potential decider but both goalkeepers and defenses managed to keep the draw intact until the clock hit four zeroes.
"This was an extremely hard-fought match," War Hawks head coach
Charles Nobles said. "There was so much emotion from both teams from the beginning with so much back-and-forth play, as both teams had the better of play at one point or another. Overall, we will take the point earned."
Holland's evening added to a storybook run of numbers for the standout. She's tallied nine goals in four matches en route to an enormous 18-point amassment. Those totals were increased by her moving into the top spot in career (26) and single-season (12) goals for McMurry.
"I've said this before but Emily plays with such tenacity and has an incredible work ethic," Nobles noted. "It comes from watching film, being in the weight room and doing everything she can to continue to develop. She'd be the first to say, too, that she couldn't do without a special group pushing her."
Senior goalkeeper
Cortlynn Boone (Argyle, Texas) was also a key component in the duel. She tallied four key saves, especially a couple down the stretch, to keep the match level.
McMurry (7-1-2, 0-0-1 ASC) is on the road Thursday, Oct. 5, against East Texas Baptist. Kickoff is 5 p.m. at Cornish Field.
