HOUSTON — Three first half goals, including one in the first two minutes, set the tone, as Houston beat the visiting Northwestern State soccer team 5-0 on Thursday evening at the Carl Lewis International Complex.
NSU dropped its third in a row during its difficult stretch to begin the season, as the Cougars (1-0-1) took control early in their home opener after having eight days off prior to the game.
“We didn’t get off to a good start,” head coach Ian Brophy said. “I felt like just conceding a goal in that way. I felt like we could have defended that situation much easier. It starts us behind the 8-ball. With that being said, we had a couple of chances to tie it at 1-1 and felt like if we just capitalize on our opportunities a little bit better, maybe it’s a different game.
“Overall that it was not the start we wanted, but I was happy with how we played through portions of the game, especially in the second half when I felt like we were able to control possession and play more of how we wanted to.”
Houston scored in the second minute and added two more goals in the game’s first 30 minutes.
NSU had a chance to break even in the 20th minute on a long shot from defender Sophie Minnillo from her own side of the field, as her long boot bounced in front of Houston goalkeeper Sierra McCluer and the ball bounced over her head and the Cougars keeper had to scramble back and saved it a mere feet from the goal line to keep NSU off the board.
Following the save by McCluer, the Cougars went to work offensively, as they found the back of the net twice in 3:17 to extend the lead to three.
Audrey Marfia came in at goalkeeper for the Demons in the second half. She stopped five shots and kept Houston scoreless in the final 32 minutes.
“Audrey stepped in the second half and played well,” Brophy said. “I thought we did really well in terms of stepping in when she was needed and helped with our distribution, but also really helped us on set pieces and I felt like she made us more secure on corners.
“But at the same time, that’s not to take away anything from Saki, who I thought just had a tough first half, but she’s still a very good goalkeeper and someone we believe in.”
Houston added a pair of goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half to salt away the win.
“I think in the second half we saw some of that consistency return, and we saw some of what we wanted to see in terms of the way we want to play,” Brophy said. “And we saw real great moments in the second half. It’s just about continuing to increase that consistency and making sure we can do it over 90 minutes. It’s hard to do against these Power 4 teams. But at the same time, this is why we test ourselves because if we can do it against these teams for long periods, then we know when we get into conference play, we can do it for long periods.”
NSU continues its stretch of five consecutive road games to begin the season Sunday when it heads to UL Lafayette before heading to Alcorn State on Sept. 3. The first game in front of the home faithful is Sept. 6 against Louisiana Tech.