HUMBLE — After playing the first half to a scoreless tie, Port Neches-Groves converted a corner kick less than two minutes into the second half and held on for a slim 1-0 win over Huntsville on Thursday in Class 4A bi-district playoff soccer action at Charles Street Stadium.
The Lady Indians’ Marisa Elam took a corner kick and booted it past goalie Chelsea McCracken 1:41 into the second half for the game’s only score, ending the Lady Hornets’ remarkable season at 13-9.
“The girls played real hard and battled the whole time,” Lady Hornets coach Pres Holcomb said. “Our archnemesis is the corner kick. We have a hard time defending against it. I guess it’s kind of fitting and that’s what beat us.”
The fifth-year coach did not expect the low-scoring affair, though.
“I told (assistant) coach (Jennifer Briggs) before the game that we’d get them 3-2,” Holcomb said. “I definitely did not think that we wouldn’t score. That really surprised me as we pushed three forwards the whole game. Their keeper (Breanne Martin) is really good; she had 11 shutouts this year.”
PN-G (17-5) held a 24-12 edge in shots on goal and spent most of its time in Huntsville’s backfield.
“One of our problems is that our defense was so far back and our forwards were so far forward that we had this big gaping hole in the middle,” Holcomb said. “We could never get on the ball. They had some speed in the back. Usually we have a couple of girls that can blow by them but they couldn’t do it tonight.”
Holcomb stated that his team has lived and died by the quick strike this year and was limited on scoring opportunities by the Lady Indians.
“When you push three forwards high and one in the midfield, you kind of know they’re looking for the fastbreak,” he said. “That’s why we beat a lot of the teams that we played — just sending the ball over the top and letting our fast people run it for us.”
The Lady Hornets have plenty to build on next year as they made their first appearance since 2004.
“The future for Lady Hornet soccer looks pretty good,” the coach said. “We’re looking our center defense, which will hurt a lot. Luckily, we aren’t losing any forwards and that should be advantageous for us. Plus, our keeper (McCracken, who had 270 saves this season) is only a freshman.”
Holcomb believes that things will only get better for the Huntsville girls.
“They definitely have the taste for it now,” he said. “That will be my push for the offseason heading into next year. They’ll know that we got to the first playoff game; now our job will be to get further. Our district will be a little different next year with the addition of Magnolia and Magnolia West. Magnolia is a pretty good team so it will be a challenge. If the girls play like they did this year, they’ll do well.”
Sports
Lady Hornets lose a heartbreaker
Huntsville soccer team bows out of playoffs
- Sports
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OUTGUNNED: First-place Mavericks shoot down Sam Houston, run winning streak to 14
Texas-Arlington had an answer for every Sam Houston run Wednesday night on the way to a 75-63 victory over the Bearkats. It was the Mavericks’ 14th consecutive win and improved their Southland Conference record to 10-0.
The last team to start league action with such perfection was Sam Houston in 2010, a team which won the conference’s regular season as well as the postseason tournament championship. -
Championship salute
The Southland Conference champs from Sam Houston State received special recognition on Wednesday night for the most successful football season in school history.
Huntsville Mayor Mac Woodward, SHSU President Dana Gibson and Walker County Judge Danny Pierce were among those who honored the Bearkats during halftime of the Bearkats’ basketball game against Texas-Arlington.
Woodward declared Feb. 8 Bearkat Pride Day. -
Bearkat women win again, 61-45
Britni Martin scored 18 points, including four 3-pointers, to lead Sam Houston State to a 61-45 Southland Conference women’s basketball victory over UT-Arlington on Wednesday at the new UTA College Park Center in Arlington.
All four of Martin’s field goals were 3-pointers and the junior forward from Conroe went 6-of-6 from the foul line to post her 17th double-figure scoring performance of the season. -
Alive and kicking
For the third consecutive game, the Hornets played like a team that does not want basketball season to end anytime soon.
Desperate to notch another victory over Willis, the Huntsville boys jumped on the Wildkats early. The Hornets used their muscle and started pulling away in the second half, then when Willis made a late rally, Huntsville’s hungry bunch had enough energy left to hold off the Wildkats in a wild 76-63 victory at the Paul Bohan Hornet Gym. -
Lady Hornets roll through district undefeated again
The Lady Hornets did it again. For the second consecutive season, the Huntsville girls basketball team rolled through District 18-4A play without a loss.
On Tuesday night in Willis, the Lady Hornets closed out another perfect 14-0 district campaign with an 86-33 win over the LadyKats. -
New Waverly seniors close out regular season in style
In their final game of the regular season, the Lady Bulldogs just enjoyed themselves in a 60-46 win over Anderson-Shiro.
This was a team New Waverly beat on the road earlier in the season and a win in “Bulldog Country” would be the appropriate way to send out seniors Myeisha Williams, Morgan Eastland, Whitney McCullough and Alex Abbott. -
Streak stoppers?
The hottest team in the Southland Conference visits Johnson Coliseum tonight, riding a 13-game winning streak and sporting a perfect 9-0 league record.
Sam Houston State has a difficult task on its hands facing Texas-Arlington, a team which had its way with the Bearkats on Jan. 11 at Texas Hall. The Mavericks rolled to a 66-40 that night in what was Sam Houston’s worst loss in conference action all season. -
Bearkats to hold celebration befitting a championship team
A championship celebration unlike any in Bearkat history will take place tonight at Johnson Coliseum as part of the festivities for the Bearkats’ basketball game against Texas-Arlingon.
Walker County, the city of Huntsville and university officials will join with SHSU alumni, students, faculty-staff and fans in saluting the 2011 Southland Conference champion and NCAA Division I football national finalist Bearkat football team. -
Big week ahead for Bulldogs, Lady Bulldogs
To say that this is an important week for the Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs basketball team would be a big understatement. With the regular season winding down, much is at stake for the New Waverly boys and girls.
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Bulldog lifters gain experience at Shepherd meet
Looking back on his lifters’ performance at last Saturday’s meet in Shepherd, New Waverly powerlifting coach Mike Carolan lauded his team’s efforts. Senior Tucker Saxton won the 220-pound classification and freshman Dillon Silvis took fifth in the 114-pound division.
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