AUSTIN, Texas — St. Edward's women's soccer worked through Eastern New Mexico's offside traps with connected passing sequences and punished a defensive mistake just before halftime, earning a 3-0 victory Wednesday at Lewis-Chen Family Field.
MADISON CRESWELL opened the scoring, JORJA BRAGG doubled the lead with eight seconds remaining in the first half, and SIERRA PADILLA finished another coordinated attack in the second half. DARIA SCHLUMBOHM anchored the Hilltopper defense with four saves, securing the shutout and three points in the Lone Star Conference standings.
Eastern New Mexico frequently stepped its defensive line forward to catch St. Edward's offside, drawing 12 whistles against the Hilltoppers. Still, St. Edward's controlled 59 percent of possession and generated a 16-9 advantage in shots, including a 7-4 edge in attempts on goal.
The Hilltoppers found their first opening in the 14th minute. ISABELLA RUIZ crossed the ball to RILEY KNOX, who controlled it with a touch and quickly found Creswell open on the left side. Creswell finished for her third goal of the season, giving St. Edward's a lead it would carry throughout the match.
Creswell continued to challenge Eastern New Mexico goalkeeper Kiley Patalan, putting all four of her shots on goal. Patalan stopped two Creswell attempts seven seconds apart in the 34th minute to keep the Greyhounds within one.
Schlumbohm answered at the other end, turning away attempts from Arissa C'deBaca and Brenda Zepeda Aguilar before St. Edward's created some breathing room in the closing seconds of the half.
Eastern New Mexico played a slow pass backward, and Bragg jumped the passing lane, blocking a defender's clearance attempt just beyond midfield. She broke free for a one-on-one opportunity against Patalan and finished at 44:52, sending the Hilltoppers into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
St. Edward's added its third goal in the 70th minute with a passing sequence that beat the Greyhounds' offside trap. TESS DABNEY sent a through ball up the left side to CLAIRE SMITH, who timed her run to stay onside. Smith crossed to Ruiz, who played the ball back to Padilla for her first goal of the season. Smith and Ruiz each received an assist.
The Hilltoppers continued to generate chances down the stretch, matching their first-half total with eight shots after the break. Schlumbohm made two more saves, including one in the final minute, to preserve the shutout.
St. Edward's improves to 2-7-3 overall and 2-4-2 in conference play, bringing its total to eight points in the LSC standings. The Hilltoppers travel to face Texas Permian Basin on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.
