The Bobcats were disheartened.
They only managed a point out of last weekend’s matches, tying with Little Rock, 0-0, and falling to Arkansas State, 1-0. The loss left Texas State in ninth place in the Sun Belt table.
“(It) knocked them off their game,” head coach Kat Conner said. “We just didn't really regroup like we wanted to.”
The team went back to practice on Tuesday having not scored a goal since Sept. 8 and the conference regular season title likely out of reach. Conner reminded them they still had to punch their ticket to the league tournament, though. The Bobcats’ captains responded.
“They came out with fire and gusto that I haven't seen in a while,” Conner said. “(Senior forward) Kaylee Davis, you know, she's taking it on full throttle that she doesn't really like what's happening … she's leading the team by her actions. I think that's awesome. And you've got (senior goalkeeper) Heather (Martin) doing the same back there in goal. It's just saying exactly what (former Texas State forward) Kassi Hormuth did about two years ago and just looked at them all and said 'That's the last loss, guys. We're going to do this. Let's get it done.'
“I think that's what leaders do. So I'm really proud of them. And I'm really proud of the way the team has said, 'You're right. Let's get it. Let's do it.' So I think it's commendable.”
Texas State (5-5-2, 1-2-1) returned to form Friday night, dominating Louisiana-Monroe (3-7-2, 0-4-0) on the road, 5-0. Davis ended the visitors’ cold streak in the first four minutes of the match. Junior midfielder Mackenzie Smith gained possession of a loose ball and passed it to Davis at the top of the box, who swung for the left side of the goal for the first score.
The Bobcats saw three more goals before the end of the half — two from senior midfielder Jordan Kondikoff and another from freshman forward Madison Humphrey. Davis added one more for good measure in the 56th minute of the second half to take the 5-0 victory and earn three points for the maroon and gold.
The visitors outpaced the Warhawks in shots on goal, 10-4. Martin saved all four attempts for the Bobcats.
The win moves Texas State into a four-way tie for sixth place in the Sun Belt. The team returns home Sunday to host Appalachian State (4-6-2, 1-2-1) inside Bobcat Soccer Complex at noon.
“We need to go in there and get ourselves a couple of wins starting with this week,” Conner said. “Just collecting as many points as we can right now so that we can get that ticket to the dance.”
