By Adam Roseberry
Staff Writer
The Northeast Texas Community College Women¡¯s soccer team suffered two difficult losses in their latest pair of home games, falling to nationally ranked Angelina College on Wednesday Sept. 21, and Jacksonville College four days earlier on Saturday.
The Eagles fell to 1-6-1 on the season and were shut out in both games.
Head Coach Heather Brady said the only thing missing from her team’s performance is goals.
¡°Score,” Brady said. ¡°They [the Eagles] do a great job in all aspects of the field, we just have to find that final third in the attacking threat and put the ball in the back of the net.¡±
Midfielder Katelyn Leal suffered a concussion in the first half of the game against Jacksonville, adding to the already lengthy list of injured Eagles.
¡°Another concussion we¡¯ve been hit with, that¡¯s the fourth one this season alone,¡± Brady said. ¡°We¡¯ve been hit hard with concussions.¡±
With such a high number of concussions and other injuries in only the first month and a half of the season, Lady Luck has not been kind to the Eagles this year.
However, in a rare bit of positive injury news for the Eagles, starting goalkeeper Naphtaline Clermeus was able to return to the field in time for the Angelina match after missing close to a month with a severe concussion.
¡°Naphtaline, she¡¯s super excited, she¡¯s cleared tomorrow. We¡¯ve gone the first five conference games without our goalkeeper,¡± Brady said. ¡°We¡¯ve definitely been hurting in that area, but we¡¯re excited to have her cleared, and she will be good to go against Angelina.¡±
The Angleina College Roadrunners are ranked 11th in the nation in the latest NJCAA rankings poll. The Roadrunners leaped out to an early lead with a goal from midfielder Audrey Gallagher in the 20th minute. Neither team could find the back of the net from that point until Angelina forward Liliane Clase scored in the 68th minute to push the Roadrunners lead to 2-0.
The Eagles managed 7 shots on goal in the contest, but came away scoreless. Angelina cashed in on two of 14 shot attempts to win the match 2-0.
A few days earlier, the Jacksonville College Jaguars quelled the Eagles spirits early with two goals in the first 16 minutes of play.
Neither team cracked the scoreboard until the 76 minute mark, when Jacksonville added on another score to push the final margin to 3-0.
NTCC took 13 shots on goal, but failed to punch in a score.
Brady thinks the Eagles are doing well, but continues to stress the need to put it all together with scores.
¡°Everything looked good, they worked hard,¡± Brady said. ¡°But we gotta find ways to get the ball in the back of the net.¡±
For more about the NTCC Women¡¯s soccer team, visit the official website of NTCC Athletics at ntcceagles.com.