Texas Tech University Athletics
Sharpe Nets Two Goals, Adds Assist in Tech Victory
April 22, 2010 | Women's Soccer
April 22, 2010
LUBBOCK, Texas - Whitney Sharpe connected on two goals and added an assist to lead Texas Tech past West Texas A&M, 4-1, Thursday night in a spring exhibition match at the John Walker Soccer Complex.
Sharpe's two goals were her first with the Red Raiders as the junior transferred to Tech from UCLA in January. A member of two Final Four teams while with the Bruins, Sharpe had not posted a point this spring until her home debut.
"It was a nice way to wrap up the spring season," Tech head coach Tom Stone said. "The players showed some flair in the attacking half and scored some nice goals. Whitney Sharpe was simply fantastic. She was dynamic down the flank all night and scored a tremendous goal in the second half. It is exciting to think of what she is going to do next season when the games are for real."
After West Texas A&M opened the match with a goal within the first three minutes, Sharpe quickly tied the match only 20 seconds later on a high ball that soared just over the outstretched arms of the Lady Buffs' goalkeeper.
Despite both teams scoring early into the match, neither team got back on the board until Conner Williams gave Tech a lead it would never relinquish with her goal three minutes prior to halftime. Madison Terry found Williams right in front of the goal and the sophomore tapped it in as Tech went to the locker room with a 2-1 halftime advantage.
In the second half, Sharpe put the match away for the Red Raiders midway through the period, taking a Tiffini Smith pass and firing from inside the box to push Tech to a 3-1 lead. She added the assist on Tech's final goal by Dawn Ward that came later in the match.
With the win, Tech completes its spring 4-0-1 having allowed only one goal in five matches, entering the Red and Black Match set for 2 p.m. Saturday.
"We only gave up one goal all spring, and we are very excited about the play of Casey McCall and this back line," Stone said. "It's been a focus of ours all spring and this group has worked hard to develop. They have started to come together and mature as a unit, which bodes well for our 2010 season."
The Red and Black Match is a joint venture between the soccer program and Tech's Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter that will benefit the Down Syndrome Guild of Dallas. Activities between the two groups will start at 1:30 p.m. and admission is free.
