AUSTIN, Texas — St. Edward's women's soccer stayed within striking distance through the opening half, but unbeaten No. 15 Texas Woman's University pulled away after the break to hand the Hilltoppers a 4-0 loss in Saturday's Lone Star Conference opener at Lewis-Chen Family Field.
St. Edward's generated the match's first opportunity less than four minutes in when ANNIE ROCHA's shot was blocked. The Hilltoppers earned a pair of corners in a possession-dominant opening 24 minutes, with ARIANA WEISS sending their other first-half attempt wide left following the second.
Texas Woman's grew into the match and broke through in the 17th minute on an unassisted goal from Alyssa Striker. The Pioneers began to apply sustained pressure late in the half, but St. Edward's goalkeeper DARIA SCHLUMBOHM made consecutive saves against Lauren Wade and Cadence Andersen to keep the deficit at one entering halftime.
The Pioneers carried that momentum into the second half, producing four shots and a corner during the opening 10 minutes. Schlumbohm stopped attempts from Bri Luna and Mardie Frye before Concepcion Maya scored amid the ensuing pressure in the 55th minute.
St. Edward's struggled to advance against a Texas Woman's side that controlled 63 percent of the possession and prevented the Hilltoppers from recording a second-half shot.
Nadia Araiza extended the Pioneers' lead in the 77th minute, finishing a chance created by Wade. Landree Cooper completed the scoring in the 86th minute.
Texas Woman's finished with an 18-2 advantage in shots and placed eight attempts on target. Schlumbohm recorded three saves in nearly 85 minutes, while the Hilltoppers added a team save.
St. Edward's falls to 0-4-1 overall and 0-1 in conference play, while Texas Woman's remains perfect at 6-0 overall and 2-0 in the LSC. The Hilltoppers continue conference play Wednesday on the road against Oklahoma Christian.
