Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Open Spring with Two Wins
March 02, 2019 | Women's Soccer
Tech sweeps doubleheader with victories over West Texas A&M and Abilene Christian.
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech picked up a pair of exhibition wins Saturday to begin the spring season. The Red Raiders rolled past West Texas A&M, 4-1, before shutting out Abilene Christian, 2-0.
"We got to play a lot of minutes against very different opponents," said redshirt junior Gabbie Puente. "It gave us the opportunity to learn about ourselves and how to beat different systems."
Two games allowed nearly the entire roster to see the pitch.
"Everyone got solid minutes and was able to show off their abilities and what they've been working on," Puente said. "It was a great confidence booster for a lot of people."
Tech's opener against West Texas A&M resulted in four goals for the Red Raiders. Savanna Jones led the way with two goals and an assist. She tallied three shots – all of which were on net. The game's first score came just under the half-hour mark when Kirsten Davis sent a short cross to an open Jones in the six-yard box. The junior sent it in for her first of the day.
After halftime, Jen Rose scored her first goal in the Scarlet & Black after launching one on net from the left side of the 18. The Lady Buffs keeper failed to catch the volley, and it bounced over the line before she could recover. Just 10 minutes later, Jones delivered a corner that found the head of Demi Koulizakis, who headed it in for the game's third score. Not one minute passed before Jones was at it again, converting another cross from Davis to make it 4-0.
The Lady Buffs spoiled the shutout, though, getting on the board with a minute remaining. The goal came on just their fourth shot on net of the game. The Red Raiders racked up 19 shots, including 10 on goal.
After a three-hour break, Tech met on the field with Abilene Christian again after taking them down at home in August, 1-0. Whereas the Red Raiders required more than a half of soccer to get on the board in the fall, they were in the lead after just 13 minutes of action Saturday.
It was Davis again creating offense, pushing a great ball into the 18 to Jade King, who while closing in on the left side of net shot across the keeper and bounced it off the far post and in. The goal was King's first of the spring and Davis' third assist of the day. Though Davis – Tech's leading scorer in 2018 – did not net one Saturday, she put two shots on net and assisted on half of Tech's six goals scored throughout the doubleheader.
Jones contributed to the game's second and final goal in the 42ndminute. The junior – whose spring opener yielded six points – landed a corner at the feet of Brittany Martin, who snuck it past the Wildcat keeper. A defender dove to the goal and attempted to clear it, but Martin's shot had already crossed the line to make it 2-0.
"We had some really quality goals today," Puente said. "It was a great start to our spring."
Tech's spring campaign will continue next weekend with a Saturday tilt at TCU. The Red Raiders dropped a regular season meeting to the Horned Frogs last fall, but came back to knock them out of the Big 12 Championship with a victory in penalties. Saturday's match is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Fort Worth.
"We got to play a lot of minutes against very different opponents," said redshirt junior Gabbie Puente. "It gave us the opportunity to learn about ourselves and how to beat different systems."
Two games allowed nearly the entire roster to see the pitch.
"Everyone got solid minutes and was able to show off their abilities and what they've been working on," Puente said. "It was a great confidence booster for a lot of people."
Tech's opener against West Texas A&M resulted in four goals for the Red Raiders. Savanna Jones led the way with two goals and an assist. She tallied three shots – all of which were on net. The game's first score came just under the half-hour mark when Kirsten Davis sent a short cross to an open Jones in the six-yard box. The junior sent it in for her first of the day.
After halftime, Jen Rose scored her first goal in the Scarlet & Black after launching one on net from the left side of the 18. The Lady Buffs keeper failed to catch the volley, and it bounced over the line before she could recover. Just 10 minutes later, Jones delivered a corner that found the head of Demi Koulizakis, who headed it in for the game's third score. Not one minute passed before Jones was at it again, converting another cross from Davis to make it 4-0.
The Lady Buffs spoiled the shutout, though, getting on the board with a minute remaining. The goal came on just their fourth shot on net of the game. The Red Raiders racked up 19 shots, including 10 on goal.
After a three-hour break, Tech met on the field with Abilene Christian again after taking them down at home in August, 1-0. Whereas the Red Raiders required more than a half of soccer to get on the board in the fall, they were in the lead after just 13 minutes of action Saturday.
It was Davis again creating offense, pushing a great ball into the 18 to Jade King, who while closing in on the left side of net shot across the keeper and bounced it off the far post and in. The goal was King's first of the spring and Davis' third assist of the day. Though Davis – Tech's leading scorer in 2018 – did not net one Saturday, she put two shots on net and assisted on half of Tech's six goals scored throughout the doubleheader.
Jones contributed to the game's second and final goal in the 42ndminute. The junior – whose spring opener yielded six points – landed a corner at the feet of Brittany Martin, who snuck it past the Wildcat keeper. A defender dove to the goal and attempted to clear it, but Martin's shot had already crossed the line to make it 2-0.
"We had some really quality goals today," Puente said. "It was a great start to our spring."
Tech's spring campaign will continue next weekend with a Saturday tilt at TCU. The Red Raiders dropped a regular season meeting to the Horned Frogs last fall, but came back to knock them out of the Big 12 Championship with a victory in penalties. Saturday's match is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Fort Worth.
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