North American University

DEER PARK, Texas — The North American University Lady Stallions came out of the locker room ready to fight back Thursday afternoon.

Unfortunately, Huston-Tillotson had one more answer.

The Rams handed NAU a 2-1 setback at Deer Park, with Huston-Tillotson's Mariyah McCrae scoring twice, including the game-winning goal in the second half.

The loss moves the Lady Stallions to 0-3 on the season, while Huston-Tillotson improves to 1-2-1.

This one had a little bit of everything.

The Rams controlled much of the first half, putting 11 shots toward the NAU goal and earning six corner kicks. NAU goalkeeper Arely Sarabia was busy early and kept the Lady Stallions within striking distance, making eight saves in the opening half.

But at 36:10, Huston-Tillotson finally broke through.

McCrae found the back of the net off assists from Lincy Villatoro-Bargallo and Emili Taclibon, giving the Rams a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.

And then the Lady Stallions came out swinging.

NAU completely flipped the script in the second half, generating 11 shots after halftime compared to just five in the opening 45 minutes.

At 59:24, the pressure finally paid off.

Genevieve Colon buried her fourth goal of the season, with Citlaili Duran picking up the assist.  1-1.

Game on.

The Lady Stallions had life, momentum and plenty of soccer left.

But McCrae wasn't finished.

Just over five minutes later, at 64:33, McCrae scored again—this time unassisted—to put Huston-Tillotson back in front, 2-1.

NAU kept pushing.

Colon finished with six shots and three on goal, while Alexia Velazquez added four shots and Duran finished with two shots on frame. NAU produced 16 shots overall, including 11 in the second half.

But Huston-Tillotson's defense and goalkeeping held the line.

The Rams finished with 20 shots, 14 of which were on target, and Sarabia was forced into 12 saves on the afternoon. Huston-Tillotson also held a commanding 8-1 advantage in corner kicks.

Still, there was a noticeable difference in the Lady Stallions after halftime.

The first half belonged to HT.   The second half?

That was a different NAU team.  

The Lady Stallions doubled their offensive pressure, found the equalizer and made the Rams sweat. They just couldn't find that second goal.

And sometimes that's soccer.

You can battle back. You can create chances. You can turn the momentum around.

But if you don't finish that last opportunity, the scoreboard doesn't care.

McCrae's two goals proved to be the difference.

For NAU, Colon continues to be a major offensive threat early in the season with her fourth goal of the year, while Duran added another assist to her ledger.

Sarabia deserves plenty of credit for keeping the Lady Stallions in the match, especially during a first half where Huston-Tillotson was applying serious pressure.

Now the Lady Stallions have to regroup.

The record says 0-3.

But Thursday's second half showed there is plenty of fight left in this group.

Final: Huston-Tillotson 2, North American 1.