North Texas soccer cruises to big win on senior day
On senior day in Denton, North Texas defeated Florida International University 4-0 to end the regular season on a high note.
Senior Cat Sebazco scored her first goal of the season Friday night against Rice and it did not take long for her to build on that mark. In the 13th minute, Sebazco scored an unassisted goal to put the Mean Green (12-3-3, 6-1-2) up 1-0. On a free kick less than three minutes later, fellow senior Tori Phillips added her second goal of the year.
In their last home game, the two seniors felt special for scoring in front of their home fans.
“I thought it was amazing, our whole team came out here and we were ready from the jump,” Phillips said. “We knew what we had to do. It was great that Cat (Sebazco) got the first goal, and then I followed and the rest of the team took care of it.”
Cat Sebazco (2) chases the ball down the field. Madison Gore
In what may be the last home game ever for North Texas at the Mean Green Soccer Complex, the seniors made their mark on the field the program has defended without a conference loss for the last nine years.
“I’m speechless, this team has been amazing all year on the field and off the field,” Sebazco said. “The chemistry has been on all year, and it just feels amazing.”
Freshman Ariel Diaz added two more goals to put the Mean Green up 4-0, while also giving her six goals on the season to pull even with Aaliyah Nolan for the team lead.
All four goals were scored in the first half. The Mean Green finished the game with 26 shots, ten of which came on goal.
“We played with a lot energy and momentum,” Diaz said. “We were working as a team and it felt great. ”
Defensively, the Mean Green smothered the Panthers (1-13, 0-9), allowing just three shots on goal. Coming into the game, the FIU had scored just four goals all season.
Head coach John Hedlund was pleased his team was able to finish the year with another home victory, but more importantly, said it was special for the seniors finish up with a win.
“We wanted to have the seniors go out with a win at home,” Hedlund said. “We ended things right. We couldn’t have scripted better, with both seniors scoring the first two goals. They played awesome today.”
With a new soccer and track and field stadium set to be completed by August 2018, the Mean Green now have a 41-0-3 record at their current home in conference play. The last home loss in a conference game came on Oct. 31, 2009.
Next up: The Mean Green face off against Middle Tennessee State University Wednesday in the first round of the Conference USA tournament in Boca Raton, Florida. North Texas enters as the No. 2 seed behind Rice University while MTSU is the No. 7 seed.
Featured Image: Tori Phillips (24) scored a goal on senior day in Denton. North Texas cruised to a 4-0 win. Madison Gore
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