BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — In its final tune-up before the WAC Tournament, the Chicago State women's soccer team (0-16, 0-14 WAC) lost, 3-1, to UTRGV (10-6-2, 7-6-1 WAC) Friday at SeatGeek Stadium.
"Everything didn't go as we planned," head coach Cristiano Costa said. "Unfortunately, we gave away the result."
The visiting Vaqueros lit up the scoreboard first, with Gina Steiner heading in a goal just out of goalkeeper Stella Chiara Chiaradia's reach to make the score 1-0. Mari Liis Lillemae and Emily Zapata assisted on the early score.
Chiaradia then briskly shook off the goal and stymied a slew of UTRGV opportunities en route to 12 saves, her second most in a match this season. Chiaradia's 126 saves lead the WAC.
Eight minutes after the Vaquero score, sophomore Barbara Castellanos, a West Chicago native, knifed through the UTRGV back line and tapped in her second goal of 2021. Sending an idyllic touch pass, Gisselle Sahagun recorded the assist, tying the match at one.
Stout back-line defense and effective goalkeeping kept the match tied at halftime, 1-1.
In the second half, Liis Lillemae then broke the tie in the 53rd minute, striking in a goal with a right-footed boot off a corner kick. 25 minutes after the Estonian forward made it 2-1, German midfielder Gina Steiner converted her second goal of the afternoon to cap off a 3-1 Vaqueros victory.
The Cougars next travel to Phoenix for the program's first-ever trip to the WAC Women's Soccer Tournament. The full tournament will be streamed live on the WAC Digital Network, with Chicago State make its debut at 9 p.m. CT on Tuesday, April 13.
