The St. Edward’s men’s soccer team faced off a day late against the The University of Texas at Tyler Patriots under the hot sun due to weather delays on Oct. 26. They celebrated their seniors Masood Porsa, Donovan Eerkes-McCarthy, Arthur Souza, Pato Padilla and Irvin Abarca on the field moments before they took on the Patriots.
Coming off a three-win streak, the Hilltoppers fell short three goals in the second half, ending the afternoon with a 3-0 win for the Patriots. However, the nail-biting game was not one to miss. An even possession throughout the entire game had everyone’s heads turning, anxious to see who would come out on top.
Despite the final score, the Hilltoppers created several dangerous opportunities throughout the match, outshooting the Patriots 15-14 and forcing the Patriot goalkeeper to make seven saves. They pressed high early in the first half, with Padilla and forward Bartek Zabek each testing Patriots defense within the opening 15 minutes. A strong defensive line anchored by seniors Porsa and Abarca held them scoreless through the first 45 minutes.
“We had an early one that might have changed the game if we would have scored that in the first few minutes,” coach Brian Young said. “It was even for most of the first half, and we just needed a bit more sharpness in front of the goal.”
Momentum shifted in the second half. Within the 57th minute the Patriots broke through, putting them in a 1-0 lead. Ten minutes later, they doubled their lead. Even after falling behind, the Hilltoppers continued to pressure the Patriots with a total of seven corner kicks, five coming in at the second half, as they pushed for a comeback. Goalkeeper Angel Ramirez tallied three saves in the match, staying active under increasing pressure from the Patriots’ attack.
They struck again in the 76th minute, sealing the game at a shocking 3-0 loss for the Hilltoppers.
“I think we just need to get a little bit of rest and mentally reshape,” Young said. “We’ve got UTD on Wednesday — they’re top of the table—and we need to be a little more physical and work harder defensively one versus one.”
The loss drops the Hilltoppers to 6-5-3 overall and 4-2-1 in conference. They will be facing off against UT Dallas on Oct. 29 at home.
“We don’t like to lose on our home field,” Young said. “We have two more home games and one away, so hopefully the guys get their mindset right and we’ll reset.”
