Women’s soccer defeats Tulsa after struggle (Photo by John Schreiber, The Daily Campus )

Although they came away with a 2-1 win to open Conference-USA play for the first time, the SMU women’s soccer team (7-3-1, 1-0) struggled to find its game against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane Sunday afternoon at Westcott Field.

The problems were particularly disappointing given the play of the team as of late. In the Mustangs’ previous two games, they’d tied Pepperdine and defeated USC, both nationally ranked opponents, and they had played their best soccer of the season.

Sunday they fell back into old habits, failing to pressure the ball effectively and turning the ball over through midfield. The team also suffered from its old tendency of having a problematic first half.

“It was extremely frustrating,” said SMU freshman goalkeeper Ashley Gunter, who made one save on the afternoon. “After playing so well in the past two games, we’d hoped to play better. I think we kind of played down to their level.”

Still, they won and the result is all that shows in the books. Once again, the bulk of the offense came from sophomore forwards Kimber and Krystal Bailey.

The Mustangs fell behind midway through the second half when Jennifer Kacergis broke into the box down the left sideàon a two-on-one and calmly slotted the ball past Gunter.

Less that four minutes later, Kimber Bailey had an answer for the Mustangs when she collected a ball that rebounded off the Tulsa goalkeeper and knocked it into the net. Sophomore forward Jena Lind took the initial shot.

Kimber Bailey is currently tied for sixth in NCAA Division-1 goals with 11 in ten games. Her 2.4 points per game average is good for a tie for 13th in the nation, and her 1.1 points per game ties her for seventh in the NCAA.

In the 82nd minute, Ashley Gunter launched a goal kick midfield that rolled towards a breaking Krystal Bailey. Krystal Bailey beat her defender and beat the goalkeeper to the lower right corner to give SMU the lead.

Gunter, who received an assist on the play, said it was the first time she’s had an assist since middle school, and the first time she can ever recall having an assist off a goal kick.

“I figured [the defender] might misjudge the ball,” Krystal Bailey said. “Once I got past her, it was just me against the goalie, and I knew I should bury that one. I missed some wide—open ones earlier in the game; we all did. It was just a lack of concentration, I think.”

They game may not have been pretty, but with conference play upon them, the SMU women’s soccer team will take the result and be happy with it, even if they were frustrated with the way they won the game.

The Mustangs return to Westcott Field next weekend when they take on Houston Friday night and Rice Sunday afternoon.