Texas Lutheran University

SEGUIN, Texas -- Senior Natalia Cortez (Edinburg/Robert Vela) managed a hat trick as Texas Lutheran (6-0) blanked Howard Payne (4-2) Saturday night at Gustafson Field.

Cortez got the Bulldogs on the board in the 30th minute before finding the back of the net in the 62nd and 63rd minutes to piece together the hat trick.

The hat trick was Cortez's second multi-goal match of the season and of her career, doubling her season total to six. The hat trick is the 29th in program history and the first since Alyssa Simien had two in 2024.

The Edinburg native got her day started with an absolute banger, controlling a throw in from Makenzie Ivie (Portland/Gregory-Portland) to scream one past the Yellow Jackets keeper.

Lilly Noblett (San Antonio/Warren) and Aliyah Fonseca (Harlingen/Harlingen South) combined to find Madison Herrera (San Antonio/Madison) for her third goal in as many matches.

Following a hand ball in the box, Cortez stepped up to nail the penalty kick to secure the brace.

The hat trick was completed just a minute later as Fonseca crossed a ball that was blocked by the Yellow Jackets keeper that was deposited by Cortez to bring the game to its final score.

Senior goalkeeper Alysa Marquez (Miami, FL/Dr. Michael Krop) was credited with her second straight shutout, making one save.

Texas Lutheran continues its nine-game homestand on Wednesday against Hardin-Simmons at 7 PM. The match will be streamed on FloCollege. All streaming and live stats links will be available on tlubulldogs.com.

For all updates on Texas Lutheran Women's Soccer, follow @tluwsoc on X (Twitter) and Instagram and as always you can find updates on all Texas Lutheran athletics on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics on X (Twitter), @tlu_athletics on Instagram, and @tlubulldogs on Facebook).