The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros women's soccer team opened its season with a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Texas Southern Tigers, a result that underscored the Tigers' early dominance.
Early Lead
Texas Southern struck first in the 11th minute when Jiselle Caffey found the net, the effort set up by Ava Coverdale, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead that carried into the break.
UTRGV's attacking rhythm was hampered by a series of saves from Texas Southern goalkeeper Alessandra Bastidas, who turned aside two attempts from Sienna Gillespie and kept Isabella Burtini's 25th‑minute strike off target.
Second Half Surge
The second half saw junior Alana Aiken capitalize on a pass in the 54th minute to double the Tigers' advantage, while freshman Melany Gallegos sent a deep effort over the crossbar and senior Linnea Eld orchestrated much of the Vaqueros' forward play.
Bastidas finished with five saves, and UTRGV outshot Texas Southern 9-8 overall, including five shots on goal, highlighting both teams' attacking intent.
Looking Ahead
UTRGV will travel to face Texas State on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. at the Bobcat Soccer Complex, hoping to rebound from the opening loss and fine‑tune its offense before the next challenge.