Donavan Jackson

Lauren Prater, junior forward, scored the first goal of the game in the 17th minute. That wasn't the end of her night though. 

Prater finished with three goals in the Texas State soccer teams' 4-2 victory against Lamar Sunday afternoon. Her second and third goals occured in the 61st and 62nd minute. 

Prater, who leads the team with seven goals in eight games, completed the program's first hat trick since Sept. 12, 2012. 

Texas State succeeded in taking care of the task at hand — maintain momentum.

The 4-2 win over Lamar Sunday afternoon extended the team’s winning streak to five games and concluded the non-conference slate with a 6-2-0 record.

The frustration mounted for the Texas State soccer team, in large part due to the shot disparity. Texas State owned the match with 34 shots to the New Mexico State’s eight.

It was not until the 77th minute that the Bobcats finally got on the scoreboard.

“In those situations we just have to stay composed and keep creating the chances,” said assistant coach Link Scoggins said.

Scoggins said the team addressed the frustrations at halftime but just had to keep pressuring and come up with the goal at the end of the shot attempts.

Rachel Grout, sophomore midfielder, scored her first goal of the season when Maddie Nichols, junior midfielder, volleyed the ball into the box to give the Bobcats the lead late in the second half.

Assistant Coach Link Scoggins said the Texas State women’s soccer team is looking to focus on maintaining the teams’ current mindset as the Sun Belt Conference season approaches.

The Bobcats are currently on a three-game winning streak, with two non-conference games remaining and a 4-2 record.

Texas State begins the two-game home stand this Friday at the Bobcat Soccer Complex where the team will host the New Mexico State Aggies.

“The confidence is there,” Scoggins said. “But New Mexico State and Lamar are teams that if we don’t take care of business, could result in a loss.”

The biggest task at hand for the coaches is how well the team will handle adversity.

After back-to-back losses, the Texas State soccer team was solely focused on getting off to a solid start tonight against Texas A&M Corpus Christi Friday night. 

“Right off the bat we just had the determination to make a statement within the first ten minutes,” said assistant coach Link Scoggins said. “We started out early serving balls into the box and started to create chances at the end of those plays.”

Texas State improved to 2-2 on the season after a 3-1 win Friday night against A&M Corpus Christi.

The Bobcats scored their first goal in the 50th minute after a scoreless first half. Kira Zapalac, sophomore midfielder, scored her first goal of the season with an assist from Landry Lowe, senior midfielder.

Longtime rival McNeese State will be visiting San Marcos Friday evening for the 12th time in school history.

Although the Texas State soccer team owns the series advantage against McNeese (17-8-1 overall), Coach Kat Conner knows this matchup won’t be an easy task for her team.

“I am excited for the season opener and it’s going to be a great game,” Conner said. “Despite what people may think of McNeese State, they are a very well-coached team and they have always given us great competition. I’m really looking forward to the atmosphere and hope to see everyone out here to support us.”

McNeese State began this season with a similar challenge facing Texas State: inexperience.