By Alan Wiederhold
HT Athletic Communications
 
ROUND ROCK, Texas – Depending on one's preferred phrasing, Huston-Tillotson University's women's soccer team served – or was served – the sporting equivalent of a nine-course steak dinner Sunday as the Rams pummeled the Steers of Texas College 9-0.
 
Junior transfer Mariyah McCrae (Anchorage, Alaska / Jacksonville U.) turned in the best individual performance by an HT player this decade as she tallied a hat trick and assisted on two more goals to lead the way for the Rams, who won their third consecutive match.
 
McCrae claimed her first goal in the 38th minute of the first half, stretching HT's lead to 3-0 with an unassisted goal. She scored that goal a mere 11 seconds after Sara de Jesus Lira (Buda, Texas / Johnson) netted her first goal of the season.
 
With a 3-0 halftime lead in their possession, the Rams came out firing in the second half, scoring six goals in the first 17 minutes after the restart. McCrae capped the second-half scoring with goals in the 61st and 62nd minute.
 
Freshman Naomi Higa Fuentes (San Antonio / Southwest Legacy) assisted on McCrae's second goal of the game, while Caroline Valencia (Bertram, Texas / Oklahoma Christian) assisted McCrae's hat trick goal with a well-placed corner kick.
 
Not one to take all the shots herself, McCrae assisted on both goals scored by freshman striker Emili Taclibon (Copperas Cove, Texas / Copperas Cove). Taclibon scored goals No. 5 and 7 for the Rams in the 52nd and 56th minutes, with Valencia also credited for an assist on Taclibon's second goal.
 
McCrae's eight-point game (two points credited per goal, and one point per assist) was the highest tally by an HT player this decade. Her hat trick was the first this season for HT's women's team.
 
Also scoring goals for HT's Unforgettable Ewes were Valencia, freshman Peyton Byars (Flint, Texas / The Brook Hill School), and graduate student Neydelyn Bonilla (Austin, Texas / KIPP). Byars was credited with the match-winner when she opened the scoring in the contest's 17th minute.
 
Assists for the #HTEwes were also credited to De Jesus, Bonilla, Kennytzia De La Torre-Arias (Austin, Texas / Del Valle), Angela Zambrano-Olvera (Manor, Texas / New Tech), and Lincy Villatoro-Bargallo (Los Angeles, Calif. / Texas A&M International).
 
Villatoro-Bargallo and Zambrano-Olvera were both credited with assists on Bonilla's goal in the 50th minute. Villatoro's assist was the second of the season and the ninth of her HT career, moving her into fifth place on HT's all-time list; she needs only two more assists to tie HT's all-time record of 11 in that category.
 
Zoey Gonzales (Austin, Texas / Connally) started in goal and was credited with her second win of the season. She teamed with freshman Tatiana Castillo (Mission, Texas / Sharyland) for the combined shutout.
 
The win was HT's 14th consecutive triumph over in-state and former Red River Athletic Conference rival Texas College, dating back to the 2012 season. The Rams are 14-3-2 against Texas College since the start of the HT program in 2007 and have outscored the Steers 85-2 during their current 14-match win streak.
 
HT faces a solid test on the road Thursday when they visit Texas A&M–San Antonio. The women's contest – the first of a women's-and-men's doubleheader, will kick off at 1 p.m. Live video and stats links can be found on the HTRamsAthletics.com website.
 
– HT –