UTB-TSC soccer swept in opening-round games

EDITOR'S NOTE: For a slideshow of images from these games, click here.

The first setback of 2009 ended the season for the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College men’s soccer team.

The 15th-ranked Scorpions (17-0-2) were beaten by No. 12 Biola University of California on penalty kicks Saturday at REK Center Field in the opening round of the NAIA tournament. The two teams finished 90 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime tied at 2 before Biola prevailed 4-3 on penalty kicks. Officially, the game goes down as a tie, but it had the same effect as a loss for UTB-TSC.

With the penalties tied at 3, Kennedy Chongo converted to make it 4-3 and keep Biola’s season alive.

Earlier in the penalties, Ricky Rodriguez, Steve Howard and Evans Frimpong scored for the Scorpions, while Cody Shelton, Abraham Gomez and Shalom Bako tallied for the Eagles.

Biola (14-4-2) advances to the NAIA Sweet 16 beginning Nov. 30 in Fresno, Calif. The Eagles face Science & Arts University of Oklahoma or Hastings College of Nebraska.

“(Going to penalties) is a 50-50 deal, it’s a coin toss,” UTB-TSC men’s coach Dan Balaguero said. “I didn’t expect the match to go that far. I thought we did enough to win in regulation. There was nothing more I could ask for from our players tonight. They were absolutely magnificent. It was just a very tough way for our season to end.”

Earlier Saturday at REK Center Field, the UTB-TSC women lost to Southern Nazarene University of Oklahoma 4-1 behind Jackie Acevedo’s hat trick in another NAIA tournament opening-round match.

The men’s teams battled through two scoreless 10-minute overtimes before going to penalty kicks.

The Scorpions and Eagles were tied at 1 at halftime as UTB-TSC scored during the 29th minute when Mario Perez’s long pass from the right side was headed in by Aaron Guerrero. Biola responded with the equalizer during the 40th minute as Zach Bautista scored on a header off a corner kick taken by Tony Montalvo.

Biola went ahead 2-1 in the 54th minute when Derek Friehe tallied on a header thanks to a long crossing pass from the left side by Bautista.

A close-range goal by Enrique “Chicle” Rivera during the 71st minute pulled UTB-TSC into a tie at 2.

The difference in the women’s match came near the end of the first half when Nazarene’s Acevedo, a standout junior forward, tallied a pair of goals 61 seconds apart during the 37th and 39th minutes to give the Crimson Storm (17-3-1) a 2-0 advantage.

Early in the second half, Acevedo completed her hat trick, and teammate Rachel Eguren also added a goal for a 4-0 lead before UTB-TSC’s Helen Wagstaff tallied on a header off a corner kick by Sara Di Benedetto during the 62nd minute for the Scorpions’ only score. UTB-TSC missed a penalty kick in the first half.

UTB-TSC women’s coach Nikola “Nik” Barjaktarevic said despite the loss, it was still a rewarding season for the Scorpions (11-5-2), who won the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament for the second time in three seasons earlier this month in Fort Worth.

“I’m not saying we were satisfied just to get here by any means — we were going for the win all the way — but you can’t win all the time, you know,” Barjaktarevic said. “This is the first year that we’ve qualified for the national tournament, so that’s a good accomplishment, especially for our young group of players. We have a great future ahead of us. It’s just tough to see our players end the season today and walk off the field after they’ve worked so hard all year.”

Nazarene next plays Lindsey Wilson of Kentucky or Missouri Baptist in the NAIA Sweet 16 beginning Nov. 30 in Decatur, Ala.

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