TEXARKANA, Texas - For the second time in as many years, the XULA women's soccer team has claimed a Red River Athletics Conference tournament championship. Wednesday afternoon, the Gold Nuggets downed LSU-Shreveport 2-0. 

"It was a really strong performance," head coach Ashley Cordeiro said. "The girls bought into our game plan and everyone played hard. They trusted each other and trusted themselves. It's definitely the right time in the season to have a great team performance."

Xavier's women struck early, taking a one-goal lead in the 16th minute of play when Keira Hardstaff scored with an assist from Anita Roese. 

Just before halftime, Roese gave the Gold Nuggets (11-2-4) an insurance goal with an assist from Juliana Kottbauer.

"Our back four defenders and keeper have been stepping up," Cordeiro said. "We've been working a lot on avoiding silly mistakes and have cleaned up a lot that. We've learned from mistakes we made over the season."

Cordeiro added, "Luisa has held up well for us. It's a huge credit to the back-line defenders and Luisa to post a clean sheet in the conference championship." 

The XULA defense proved quite capable of holding the Pilots at bay, holding LSUS (12-7) to just 10 shots on the day, only four of which were on goal. Keeper Luisa Bella stopped each threatening shot on the day for a clean sheet. 

THREE YEARS OF SUCCESS

For a still-new program - XULA first fielded a women's soccer team in 2023 - the results have been staggering. 

In their first year of existence, the Gold Nuggets claimed the RRAC regular-season crown and made it to the second round of the NAIA national tournament. 

In 2024, the Gold Nuggets won a tournament title in penalty kicks against LSU-Alexandria and won another first-round national tournament match. 

Cordeiro, the only head coach the Gold Nuggers have had in their brief existence, credited the strong character of her players for the fast track XULA has taken to the top of the RRAC. 

"It starts with recruiting the right people," Cordeiro said. "We recruit you as a person first, a player second … Our players know how to win. Whether they come from high-level clubs internationally or here in the States, they have learned how to be successful. When you have good teammates, good people, who encourage each other on and off the field, you will have success. Off-the-field culture translates on the field." 

POSTSEASON PLANS

The Gold Nuggets are guaranteed a third berth in the NAIA national tournament, although they will have to wait until Friday at 6 p.m. to learn where they will play and against whom. 

Complete NAIA national brackets will be available here once they become available.