SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The officiating crew impacted a non-conference showdown between Heartland Conference rivals on Friday, as a pair of penalty kicks left the score knotted at 1 through 90 minutes of regulations. But it was the second spot kick that saw St. Mary's eventually steal the, 2-1, victory from the visiting Texas A&M International University in the 90th minute.
"I don't have much to say after what we saw (on Friday)," TAMIU associate head coach Felipe Arias said. "TAMIU deserved a better result, but unfortunately a few unlucky decisions prevented us from that result. The match was initially conditioned by an unmerited red card soon after we took our lead, and from there it is very difficult to play a player down.
"At the end of the day, I am very proud of the honesty displayed by our team and they should be proud of their performance as well."
The Dustdevils leapt to a 1-0 lead just after halftime, as junior forward Kim Garcia produced her third goal of the season with a penalty kick conversion in the 49th minute.
Exactly 20 minutes later, senior center back Laura Twinem was dealt a red card ejection for her second yellow card offense, leaving TAMIU a player down for the final 20 minutes.
The Dustdevils withstood the onslaught of Rattler attacks – including five of their 20 total shots – in that time. With 45 seconds to go, St. Mary's was awarded a hometown decision, leading to a penalty kick and a chance to force overtime. The spot kick was converted and TAMIU was thrust into its fourth overtime in seven games.
The player deficit helped St. Mary's clinch its victory just five minutes into the extra period, concluding the match with its golden-goal winner.
All in all, TAMIU goalkeeper Chelsea Knaack performed with a passion in between the pipes, completing nine saves and allowing just the one run-of-play goal.
TAMIU will return to action on the road on Sept. 28 when it faces Ouachita Baptist at 1 p.m. The Dustdevils defeated Ouachita Baptist 2-1 on Sept. 5.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Adam Geigerman,
Sports Information Director and Promotions Specialist
956-326-3007
AdamS.Geigerman@TAMIU.edu
www.GoDustdevils.com
