Sophomore midfielder Chloe Jones scored the equalizing goal with one second left in regulation as Texas State soccer (8-6-4, 3-3-4 Sun Belt Conference) tied against Southern Mississippi (6-8-3, 3-4-3 Sun Belt Conference) in its final regular season matchup Thursday evening on senior night.
For Texas State, this result solidifies its number three spot in the Sun Belt West Division and seeds them at number eight in the upcoming Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
“An absolutely crazy game, but certainly a memorable one,” Head Coach Steve Holeman said. “On senior night, you want to have something you can remember, and you want to have something positive.”
It was an up-and-down matchup that demanded perseverance and physicality from both teams. In the first half, the Bobcats accumulated eight fouls compared to Southern Mississippi’s three. At the end of the match, each team shared 34 total fouls.
“We knew it would be a tough game from the physical standpoint and an aggressive game,” Holeman said. “That’s not really our style, but we’re certainly not going to back down from anyone who plays a physical game.”
Texas State took the lead in the first half with two goals in the 11th and 26th minutes from sophomore forward Addison Peters and senior midfielder Mya Ulloa, respectively. However, Southern Miss gained momentum late in the first half and eventually equalized the score at 2-2 with five seconds remaining in the first frame.
Southern Miss took its first and only lead of the game in the 53rd minute after a cross into the box found a head for a goal. Texas State went the remainder of the game without responding offensively until the final minute.
“I think it was a matter of just focusing in on teammates and just being able to realize, like, ‘hey, we’re not out of it,’” Texas State junior defender Kenley Bradley said. “We’ve just got to rely on people and not give up.”
Texas State found the back of the net to tie the score with one second left in the game after a penalty kick went off the post, and the ball was sent to the wide part of the pitch. Bradley dropped the ball at the back post, opening Jones to equalize as the end-game horn rang.
With this result, Texas State will move forward to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, looking for success.
Texas State will open the tournament against the University of Louisiana-Lafayette (7-8-2, 4-6-0).
Kickoff between Texas State and Louisiana-Lafayette is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 30, at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex Day in Foley, Alabama. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.
