No. 25 Texas Tech Splashes Their Way to 4-1 Win Over Youngstown State
Flash flooding nor Penguins, even in West Texas, could slow down No. 25 Texas Tech Soccer’s hot start to the season as they once again struck early on their way to a 4-1 win over Youngstown State. This marks the third straight match (including their exhibition) that the team has scored four goals with Taylor Zdrojewski (x2), Peyton Parsons and Sam Courtwright doing the honors on Sunday.
“I think the last time we were at Oklahoma State, it was like that…last time we were at West Virginia, it was like that,” said Texas Tech head coach Tom Stone following the game speaking to getting experience playing in wet conditions. “We’ve already done this now. We’ve slopped around a little bit and got the ball moving. Just the far corner kind of gave us some troubles where Macy was trying to do business. But other than that, it was a really, really fun night.”
Texas Tech Stat Leaders
Taylor Zdrojewski – 4 shots, 3 SOG, 2 G, 1 A, 39 min
Peyton Parsons – 5 shots, 4 SOG, 1 G, 1 A, 47 min
Sam Courtwright – 4 shots, 3 SOG, 1 G, 52 min
Molly Skurcenski – 3 A, 45 min
Faith Nguyen – 1 GA, 1 SV, 82 min
How It Happened
An hour long delay due to flash flooding made for a wet pitch in the team’s home opener. Big shouts to ground’s crew for even getting this one playable as it didn’t look too promising when a down pour left John Walker under water like much of Lubbock.
“I got to give the props to our grounds crew when the rain came in,” said Coach Stone. “Man that new field was tested. The field performed extremely well. If there was standing water out there, that would have been a mess for our team the way we try to pass the ball. So we’re thrilled with that and another good start. We told the team, look a good start doesn’t mean you’re going to score but it means you’re on top of the other team. If you’re on the front foot and you put them in the hole a little bit, then then the goals are coming, and another good start led to the first goal.”
No one would have blamed either team if the messy conditions translated into a messy game but instead the Red Raiders came out blazing once again. Making no look, through traffic passes and scoring twice within the game’s first twelve minutes of play. Both goals coming off combination play from Zdrojewski and Parsons.
“Yeah, Pay and I we didn’t coordinate a celebration ahead of time, we’re more of just huggers I guess,” Zdrojewski quipped with Sam Courtwright, who had a celly moment with Kylie Bahr later in the game, standing to her right at the postgame presser. “She’s [Peyton] definitely somebody I love to combine with. I know she’ll set me up plenty of times so if I can give that back to her, it means a lot too.”
The passing was *MUAH* chef’s kiss. Zdrojewski is a goal scorer most certainly but her passing as a forward is very much underrated and she showed it off finding Parsons for the first goal of the game. It wasn’t too long after that Parsons returned the favor to split two defenders and find Z for her first goal of the game.
“It was special, right?,” Coach Stone responded when asked about this duo’s chemistry. “They were finding each other with no look passes, finding each other with give and goes. That is textbook, how you break down a pack defense, and both of those two have a high soccer IQ, but then you have to execute it. Your feet have to cooperate. So they saw it and they executed it. Their feet were clean and tidy, and both finishes were awesome. Peyton’s bending ball to the corner was, we do that every Tuesday, and Peyton just looked so calm to bend it around her there. It was really a wonderful goal.”
Call it the game of pairs with Kylie Bahr and Sam Courtwright joining the party just 11 minutes later to combine for the team’s third goal of the game. Bahr was relatively unstoppable down the flank in the first half just toying with the Penguins (from Ohio! OHIO!) The junior outside back offered up a handful of dangerous crosses before finding Courtwright with space (will they EVER LEARN?!) who finished it off to give Texas Tech a 3-0 lead just 21 minutes into the game.
Should also be noted all of this was started by an assist from Molly Skurcenski who sent a ball from midfield over the top of the defense to the streaking Bahr. That was one of three assists for the *checks notes* starting center back. Silly business.
Watch it again if you missed it, the celebration was almost as class as the goal itself. Something the two cooked up during the aforementioned rain delay perhaps? Perhaps.
“We actually came up with that in the locker room before the game and we were manifesting that she was going to assist me,” explained Courtwright. “So, it worked. I look at her and I’m like, ‘We’re doing it.’ She’s like, ‘Yep.'”
Youngstown State did find their way to one goal in this with about twenty minutes to play when a nice ball in caught the Tech backline a little flat footed. Certainly something to clean up but credit the Penguins for forcing the issue. It seemed to reignite a bit of fire for the Red Raiders however and shortly there after Zdrojewski intercepted a pass, easy one cut “see ya later” move to leave the lone remaining defender behind. Then calmly finished it past the Penguin keeper for her second goal of the game and third already of the young season.
What’s Next
Texas Tech (2-0) heads back out on the road for their first Top 25 matchup of the season as they take on No. 16 Santa Clara (1-1) on Thursday.
“We always appreciate when we have a super hot game start,” said Courtwright. “We want to keep that rolling going into Thursday’s game. A lot of different people got on the board, a lot of different minutes. I think when we had a lot of combination play, it was successful for us. So, just honing on the things this game that we can work on that we can bring to the rest of the season.”
First touch 7:30 PM PT / 9:30 PM CT and can be streamed on ESPN+.
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