Scorpions post soccer wins at home after long stint on the road

The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College men’s and women’s soccer teams celebrated a return home Thursday after more than one month on the road with a pair of victories over Texas College at REK Center Field.

The UTB-TSC men, ranked 17th, rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit to take the opener 3-1 before the Scorpion women breezed to a 9-1 triumph.

"We knew that once we got the first goal, the second one would probably come, too," UTB-TSC men’s coach Dan Balaguero said. "But I didn’t know just when the first one was going to come. I was obviously very delighted when we finally got the first one (in the second half).

"It was a credit to our guys that they stuck with it," he added. "We ended up getting the three goals so that at the end of the day we were the winners."

Before Thursday, the Scorpions men (10-0-1, 4-0 Red River Athletic Conference) last played at home Sept. 5 and the UTB-TSC women (6-3-2, 3-0-1) last played at home Sept. 9. The homestand continues Saturday for the Scorpions as Bacone College comes to town. The men play at 1 p.m. and the women at 3 p.m.

Mario Perez, a freshman forward from Porter, highlighted the men’s game by scoring the Scorpions’ first goal and recording the assist on the second to put UTB-TSC ahead for good.

Edgar Monroy was credited with giving Texas College (4-6, 3-2) a 1-0 lead seven minutes into the first half of the men’s match. Perez then pulled the Scorpions even at 1 with a little more than 10 minutes expired in the second half when the Steers’ goalkeeper couldn’t handle the ball and it was sent toward the goal by UTB-TSC’s Aaron Guerrero. The ball came to Perez, who was close to the right post, and he kicked it into the right corner of the open net from close range.

Then, with about seven and a half minutes left, Perez took a corner kick from the right side and sent the ball out to teammate Nestor Morales rather than kick it directly toward the goal. Morales, a freshman midfielder from Lopez, sent a strong shot on the ground into the goal from 25 yards for a 2-1 UTB-TSC advantage.

"We had been trying to send the ball out on top (without success) since the first corner kick," Perez said. "Towards the end (of the match), I decided to pass it to Nestor and he scored, which was amazing because we were tied at that point. It was a big goal for us.

"I’m proud of all my teammates because we worked hard and we did it," Perez added. "It was very satisfying to win."

With three and a half minutes remaining, Omar Apodaca made it 3-1 on a goal from 15 yards thanks to an assist by Enrique "Chicle" Rivera.

Juan Gamboa made four saves in goal for the Scorpions, who had nine shots on goal compared to five for the Steers.

Meanwhile, there was no such drama in the women’s match.

Goals by Leah Russell and Jodie Hunter gave the Scorpions a 2-0 haltime lead. They broke it open with goals by Sara DiBenedetto, Hunter and Russell during the first 10 minutes of the second half to make it 5-1. The lone tally for Texas College (3-7, 2-3) was by Alejandra Lopez five minutes into the second half.

Adding to their lead, the Scorpions added goals down the stretch by Linette Cuvillier, Samantha Thorman, Russell and Verena Wonsikowski.

"It was great playing at home today after such a long (part of the) season on the road," said Russell, who had a hat trick. "Hopefully we’ll have the same spirit on Saturday. We feel pretty good, and we’re on a confident power trip right now."

The UTB-TSC women recorded 16 shots on goal compared to just one for Texas College.

Roy Hess writes for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him via e-mail at rhess@brownsvilleherald.com.

Elsewhere

UTB-TSC volleyball begins second-half of RRAC play

No. 9 University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, on a mission to win the Red River Athletic Conference championship and a spot in the NAIA national tournament, begins the second half of conference play Friday in East Texas.

The Scorpions (21-1, 8-0 RRAC), who are on an 18-match winning streak, visits Wiley College at 7 p.m. Friday in Marshall, Jarvis Christian College at 11 a.m. Saturday in Hawkins and Texas College at 4 p.m. Saturday in Tyler.

UTB-TSC swept all eight RRAC matches by a 3-0 score.

Wiley College (12-3, 7-1) figures to be the toughest of the three opponents. The defending conference champion Wildcats’ only first-half loss was to the Scorpions on Oct. 2 in Brownsville.

Scorpions coach Todd Lowery is expected to let everyone play in matches against Jarvis Christian (3-14, 1-6) and Texas College (3-12, 0-8).

UTB-TSC will be on the road again the following weekend before their final home match of the season Oct. 30 against Bacone College.