Box Score EDINBURG, Texas — Wrapping up its Texas roadtrip, the Chicago State women's soccer team (0-5, 0-3 WAC) fell to UT Rio Grande Valley (4-1-2, 1-1-1 WAC) Thursday night.
"We kept the ball the majority of the game and had a lot of good moments," head coach Cristiano Costa said. "Unfortunately, we couldn't succeed in the attacking third."
After six scoreless minutes to start, UTRGV's Madeline Von Moeller floated a shot with her right foot just over the outstretched arm of Chicago State goalkeeper
Stella Chiara Chiaradia.
Then in the 17th minute, the Vaqueros struck again. Nadia Colon weaved through the Cougar defense and delivered a crosser that midfielder Gina Steiner headed into the net, powering UTRGV ahead, 2-0.
Chicago State generated three opportunities in the first half but was stymied by goalkeeper Maile Lunardi each time. In the 20th minute,
Debora Maciel stroked a shot to the center that Lunardi blocked. Three minutes later,
Carmen Acedo launched a rocket from straight-on that was stopped. And
Julia Oliveira faced the same fate on a 38th-minute chance.
In the second half, the two sides continued to battle, with neither side posing a strong offensive attack, and the match ended with UTRGV on top, 2-0. In the scoreless second frame, defenders Lauren Reiber, Jaydie Hanks and Acedo anchored the protection.
On the evening, Chiara Chiaradia tallied nine saves. All of Chicago State's shots came from Maciel, Oliveira and Acedo.
The Cougars next face California Baptist on Thursday, March 4 at 4:00 pm CT in Riverside, California.
