By: Kate Nordhaus/
The Howard Payne women’s soccer team made their way to Edinburg, Texas for a historic match against a Division I program, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on September 5. The Lady Jackets set a record by being the first team at HPU to play on ESPN+.
In the first half, the Yellow Jackets held on, only trailing 0-1 against the UTRGV Vaqueros. However, the team gave up 4 goals in the second half, ultimately losing 0-5 to the Vaqueros. Even though the Jackets lost, the game is still etched in the history book as a proud moment for getting national exposure.
The team traveled to Houston to take on the St. Thomas Lions on September 8. The Lady Jackets were trailing 0-1 in the first half and then scored in the second half to tie the game 1-1. The match ended in a draw with a goal from Maddy Harry, sophomore elementary education major from League City.
“To score the equalizer for the team meant a lot because we were dominating possession the whole match and it was good to see a reward from our hard work,” Harry said.
After the St. Thomas game, the girls made the long trip home back to Brownwood, arriving early Monday morning. Even though the Lady Jackets did not get the results they wanted this weekend, they hope to build off their performances against UTRGV and St. Thomas in the upcoming season.
staff writer Kate Nordhaus