Box Score
BROWNWOOD -- In their season-opener Saturday afternoon, the Wayland Baptist women's soccer team took on Howard Payne University. The Pioneers struggled to find the back of the net despite outshooting the Lady Yellowjackets 15-1 in the first half, but found their stride in the second half, scoring three goals and taking away a 3-2 win.
With the anticipation of the start of the season, the Pioneers had to wait just a little bit longer as the referee delayed the game a few minutes before it was supposed to start due to lightning. When WBU and HPU finally hit the pitch, Wayland came out strong and never let up.
"Our attacking and domination of the game was pretty apparent," head coach Shiloh Posey said. "We controlled the ball about 70-75 percent of the match."
With the game still knotted at zeros, lightning struck again and both teams headed for shelter for the second delay of the match with three minutes remaining in the first half. While some teams might struggle with an abnormal flow of the game, Posey said his squad responded extremely well.
"We just tried to stay focused during the rain delays. The girls were able to stay relaxed and get back on the field and take care of business."
After a scoreless first half, Howard Payne (0-1) got on the board first as Brittany Davis headed one in after a corner kick by Kasey Nix just 1:55 into the second half.
"Howard Payne came out in the second half and really started pushing on us," Posey said. "They got a corner kick and lost their girl behind us and she made a really nice goal."
Wayland answered big time, however, scoring three goals in an 11-minute span.
Senior Emarie Holland dribbled through the HPU defense and put the ball in the back of the net at the 57:45 mark to get Wayland on the board.
Less than three minutes later, Sarah Castro netted the Pioneers' second goal off a penalty kick.
The Pioneers' final goal came eight minutes later when Holland scored her second goal of the match with 20 minutes left.
The Ladyjackets tried to come back with a late goal after Nix scored off a deflection of Wayland goal keeper Kasey Hayes. Wayland, though, was able to hold Howard Payne for the final four minutes of the match to take a 3-2 victory.
Posey was quick to praise his team's effort after their first match of the season.
"Overall, we did a really good job. It was the most consistent time period of possessing the ball against a really quality team that we've had.
"I feel good about the direction we're headed. All the girls played today and every one of them contributed; it was a total team effort. It was a pleasure to watch them play today."
The Pioneers will look to continue their strong start to the 2013 season on Tuesday as they travel to Hobbs, N.M., to take on the University of the Southwest at 2 p.m.
