Curtis Lewis warned The Master's University women's soccer team about the perils of starting slow Wednesday against William Carey University.
Lewis, TMU's head coach, knew William Carey's credentials, the Crusaders having advanced at least as far as the NAIA national semifinals in each of the past three seasons, and he was aware of the firepower they still possessed.
The Mustangs could not afford to stumble out of the gates the way they had before storming back to tie OUAZ in their season opener and beat Mobile in dramatic fashion earlier this week.
Alas, TMU surrendered three first-half goals Wednesday — one in the first 41 seconds of the game — and an excellent performance over the day's final 45 minutes wasn't enough to recover in what became a 3-1 loss.
The Mustangs (1-1-1) truly looked like a different team after halftime of the neutral-site matchup in Foley, Ala. They held the Crusaders (2-0-1) to only three shots during that span, none of them on goal, while creating numerous opportunities of their own.
Master's attempted eight shots after halftime, with Kate Lawrence's blast in the 83rd minute ricochetting off a defender and carrying over the head of the goalie.
It was Lawrence's first goal since transferring to TMU before this semester. "After halftime, I think we were able to finally find a rhythm as a team," she said. "We came out with more grit and more aggression, which put William Carey under a lot more pressure allowing us to really play our game. The second half showed the crazy potential this team has."
Lawrence also played a crucial role Monday, drawing the foul that led to Payton Williams' free kick in the 88th minute and the only goal in a 1-0 win over the University of Mobile.
The Mustangs also found another gear toward the end of 2-2 tie with OUAZ to open the season on Jan. 16, erasing a two-goal deficit in impressive fashion. Wednesday, the hole was too deep.
Lewis loved the way his team responded in the second half. Now, he just wants to see that level of play for the entire game.
"We're young, and we're having to play a lot of people in positions they've never played before. So, I just think it's taking us some time to figure things out," Lewis said. "But the bigger question we're going to have to ask ourselves is whether we want to be a one-half soccer team or if we're going to put a full 90 minutes together.
"If we're willing to play a full 90, then we're going to be very quality this year."
The Mustangs will get that opportunity soon. TMU will play at Southeastern University (12-0-1) in Lakeland, Fla., on Saturday at 4 p.m. PST.
