UTB-TSC Capsules: UTB-TSC soccer teams complete successful homestand
Everything went pretty much according to expectations as the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College soccer teams completed a successful homestand on Saturday with Red River Athletic Conference victories over Southwestern Assemblies of God University at REK Center Field. The UTB-TSC men (11-3-1, 7-0 RRAC) triumphed 6-0, while the Scorpions women (11-2-2, 6-0-1) won 3-0 to remain among the conference frontrunners.
The UTB-TSC teams were coming off Thursday's 3-1 (men) and 5-0 (women) victories at home over Huston-Tillotson University. Sweeping the two doubleheaders completed the Scorpions' final regular-season home matches.
The Scorpions men and women now go on the road for their final two regular-season RRAC games at Louisiana State University-Shreveport on Thursday and at Northwood University on Saturday. Results of those matches will determine seedings for the RRAC Tournament scheduled Nov. 4 through 6 at UTB-TSC.
"I think we're peaking at the right time," UTB-TSC men's coach Dan Balaguero said. "We had a good day today, and I'm happy with the way we played. We have a big game coming up Thursday (against second-place LSU-Shreveport). If we win that one, we'll be (regular-season) conference champions again."
The Scorpions men scored three goals during each half to win decisively on Saturday. In the first half, Aaron Guerrero fired in a shot from 20 yards during the 25th minute for a 1-0 lead. Mario Perez attacked down the middle and beat SAGU goalkeeper Cesar Galvan with a well-placed shot to the left corner of the net during the 39th minute to make it 2-0. With a little more than one minute remaining in the opening half, Ricky Rodriguez lofted a shot up and over Galvan that settled into the back of the net to make it 3-0.
During the second half, goals by Juan Nava in the 67th and 69th minutes boosted the lead to 5-0. An acrobatic, bicycle-kick goal by Perez during the 86th minute provided the 6-0 final tally. Nava, a senior forward from Hidalgo, now has 13 goals on the season and ranks among the conference leaders. He is chasing the UTB-TSC single-season record of 16 goals, which is held by Fernando Mendoza.
The Scorpions finished with a 16-3 edge in shots on goal, while Galvan made five saves for SAGU (6-10, 0-7) and UTB-TSC goalkeeper Juan Gamboa had three saves.
Earlier Saturday, the UTB-TSC women added another shutout win to this season's conference showing, while finishing with a lopsided 23-2 advantage in shots on goal.
The UTB-TSC women led 2-0 at halftime on goals by Verena Wonsikowski during the 17th minute and by Chelsea Maidment during the 28th minute. A header by Linette Cuvillier, taken from near the left post during the 51st minute, increased the lead to 3-0.
Wonsikowski, a junior forward from Kleve, Germany, contributed to the successful homestand in a big way, logging three goals in two games and also adding an assist.
"This is probably one of my best seasons," said Wonsikowski, who ranks among the RRAC leaders with 13 goals on the season. "We have a really good team this year, and I have to say thank you to all my teammates, because without them, I wouldn't be able to score the goals that I've been scoring. I'm very proud to be part of this team.
"We're putting a lot of effort into this season, and I definitely think this team is ready (for what's ahead), and we'll get paid soon (for all that effort)," she added. "I'm just waiting for the results. I can't wait."
UTB-TSC women's coach Nikola "Nik" Barjaktarevic echoed the sentiments of his standout forward.
"We feel we're on the right track, and we're confident going into these last two (regular-season) games," he said. "Obviously, we have to get the job done. The last two games will probably determine the top three seeded teams in the conference (for the RRAC Tournament).
"We scored eight goals in the process (of winning these last two home games), and we didn't get anyone hurt, so that was big," he added. "We're getting some people back (from injury), too."
For the SAGU women (2-14, 0-7), goalkeeper Tracy Griffin finished with 20 saves. UTB-TSC goalkeeper Emily Michna recorded two saves.
Roy Hess writes for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him via e-mail at rhess@brownsvilleherald.com
Volleyball
Scorpions cruise past Texas College 3-0
TYLER - No. 5 University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College eased past Texas College in a 55-minute match, 25-9, 25-9, 25-14, in a Red River Athletic Conference match Saturday.
The win was the fourth straight for the Scorpions, coming after their only loss of the season. UTB-TSC (26-1) leads the RRAC with a 12-0 record. Texas College dropped to 5-24, 3-8 in conference play.
Next up is the long-awaited trip to California for the Scorpions, and a chance to meet the Nos. 1, 3 and 10 teams in the country. The matches will mark the first time the Scorpions have played in California in any sport since joining the NAIA in 2006.
Saturday's trip to Tyler was the final stop in a three-city tour that took the Scorpions to Fort Worth and Marshall the two previous nights. The Scorpions were never threatened and surrendered a season-low 32 points during the three sets.
Ana Guerra had 10 kills in 11 attempts with one error for an .818 hitting percentage. She also assisted on six blocks. Danica Markovic added six kills and four aces, while Erica Chimak had eight kills and Katharina Nobel seven. Tamires Ferreira had 23 assists.
UTB-TSC has three matches in two days in the Los Angeles area next week. The Scorpions meet No. 3 Biola on Thursday, No. 1 Fresno Pacific on Friday and No. 10 Concordia (Calif.) on Friday night.
-- UTB-TSC Services
