For a group making its debut in its program’s inaugural season, the Angelina College Lady Roadrunners didn’t play like a team out on the pitch just for show. The team pushed Richland College, a 2015 NJCAA Division III national tournament participant, to the limit before falling 2-1 on a Lady Duck golden goal in overtime.
With the Lady ‘Runners already making history just by playing, AC’s Cameryn Garcia etched her name into the Angelina College history books by scoring the program’s first-ever goal in the 32nd minute of the second half.
“I just went for it,” Garcia, a freshman from Leander, said afterward. “I saw the ball bouncing toward me and I just took the shot. I was shocked it went in. I was afraid I’d shank it over the bar.”
“What’s great about the shot is that’s why Cameryn is here,” head coach Freddy Drago said. “Plain and simple, she can just score. It’s no surprise to me that the first-ever goal in AC history came from Cameryn Garcia.”
Garcia’s goal provided the equalizer after the Lady Ducks took advantage of AC’s pressing attack to score in the first half. Lady Duck Jazmine Cuenza found open space behind the Lady ‘Runner defense to convert a breakaway opportunity in the 32nd minute; but after that one miscue, the Lady Roadrunners seemed to pick up the pace on offense, finishing the half with five shots over the final eight minutes while holding Richland without an attempt.
“We wanted to come out and play controlled instead of just running wild all over the pitch,” Drago said. “This was the first college game for a lot of these girls. We didn’t plan to come out too aggressive, hoping to let them get the feel of the game, but as the game progressed, we figured out we can attack and we can get there.
“We were on the attack so much more in the second half, and that may have led to giving up the goals. But overall, I’m very, very happy with what I saw.”
Garcia’s goal came courtesy of Carley Elkins’ second corner kick. After her first attempt at a cross into the box deflected off a Richland defender, Elkins’ second try found Lauren Voss at the top of the box. Voss’ shot attempt ricocheted off a Lady Duck and bounded toward Garcia, who sent the ball into the top left corner for the historic goal.
AC nearly pulled out the win in regulation with Kennedy Sessions attempting to blast one past the Richland keeper with just seconds to play, but the Lady Duck goalie made a sliding deflection for the save.
In the first minute of extra time, AC opened with an attack, only to have the Lady Ducks duplicate their first goal with an open look behind the defense for the game winner.
Despite the final score, Drago said he saw enough from his team to quell any worries arising from a lack of practice time over the past week.
“I loved it. That’s why we coach a sport, or participate in sports or even watch sports,” Drago said. “Soccer is just that type of situation: You can’t really expect stuff to happen. We went out and gave up an easy goal in the first half, but the girls kept fighting, fighting, fighting. We had a tough situation all week long with the weather keeping us from training the way we would have liked, and we could see us getting a little tired. But they didn’t use that as an excuse. They kept working, and that effort led to the goal late in the second half.
“I’m super-pleased with everything I saw tonight. I’m excited about the direction the program is heading. It would have been awesome to pick up the first-ever win, but hey, we got the first goal. The girls represented the school and community well. They never gave up. To me, that’s a win in itself.”
The Lady Roadrunners’ next game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at Navarro College in Corsicana, but the recent bout of bad weather may force the teams to move the game to Thursday at a neutral location. Any changes will be announced by Wednesday.
The e-mail address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.
