UTB-TSC Capsules: Scorpions cruise past SAGU 3-0; advance to title match

The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College tied a season high with 13 service aces during a 3-0 victory over Southwestern Assemblies of God University on Friday at Manuel Garza Gymnasium in the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals.

The win vaults the top-seeded Scorpions into the tournament championship match at 2 p.m. Saturday against Wiley College, the tournament’s No. 2 seed. Wiley knocked off University of St. Thomas 3-1 in its semifinal.

The conference tournament champion earns a spot in the NAIA women’s volleyball national championships.

Vanja Joksic led the offense with nine kills on 15 swings without an error, marking the fourth straight game the RRAC freshman of the year has played error-free volleyball from the offensive end. Over the past four matches, Joksic has 37 kills on 61 swings without an error for a .607 attack percentage. She also had two solo and two assisted blocks.

UTB-TSC did not post other outstanding offensive numbers, but the 13 aces and nine team blocks stood out. Ana Guerra had four assisted blocks, Katharina Nobel had one solo and two assisted blocks, and Michelle Marques had three assisted blocks.

Amber Brooks, the nation’s leader in service aces, had four more to go with 30 assists. Danica Markovic also had four aces to go with 16 digs. Libero Paula Barros had 14 digs.

Nobel and Marques had two service aces each.

Men’s Soccer

Scorpions knock off St. Thomas 3-2 in overtime in RRAC semifinals

CEDAR HILL - Leigh Veidman connected on a goal three minutes into overtime to lift the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College to a 3-2 win over University of St. Thomas in the Red River Athletic Conference men’s soccer tournament semifinals Friday.

With the win, the Scorpions advance to the tournament championship game against Huston-Tillotson University, which defeated Our Lady of the Lake University 2-0 in the other semifinal. The title game is scheduled at 1 p.m. Saturday at Cedar Hill.

"I’m so proud of the guys for finding a way to win when it looked like we were dead," Scorpions coach Dan Balaguero said. "It was a team effort, although the performance was not great the spirit and effort was top class."

UST scored first eight minutes into the game before the Scorpions tied it in the 36th minute on a goal from Mario Perez with an assist from Veidman. The game stayed 1-1 at halftime.

UST went ahead 2-1 in the 52nd minute and led for 27 minutes. With 11 minutes left in regulation in the 79th minute, Perez scored again, this time with an assist from Fredrick Ekvall.

In overtime, Veidman took a pass from Victor Parreiras for the game-winning goal.

Michael Argumedo played 93 minutes at goalkeeper and had 11 saves.

Now the Scorpions face the team that ended their 37-game conference unbeaten streak during the regular season 3-1 in Austin.

"We need to recover quickly and get ready for a very good Huston-Tillotson team Saturday," Balaguero said.

UTB-TSC has won four straight RRAC championships. The last team to win a crown besides the Scorpions was HTU in 2007.

-- UTB-TSC Services

Women's Soccer

UTB-TSC stops Bacone 2-0; advances to RRAC title game

FORT WORTH - The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College women's soccer team made it a clean sweep of victories for Scorpions teams Friday with a 2-0 win over Bacone College (Okla.) in the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals at Martin Field.

UTB-TSC, the top seed in the tournament, advances to the tournament championship game against defending champion Northwood University at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Northwood, the No. 5 seed in the tournament, upset second-seeded Our Lady of the Lake 1-0.

The Scorpions have broken their school record for most wins in one season. UTB-TSC is 16-2-1 and has won its past 13 straight games. The shutout was the fifth straight and the 12th of the season for the Scorpions.

Isadora Freitas had a hand in both Scorpions goals, with assists in each one.

Verena Wonsikowski scored with only 60 seconds elapsed in the game to give the Scorpions a 1-0 lead that stood that way for the next 69 minutes. In the second half, Laura Luis took a pass from Freitas to score the second goal in the 70th minute.

UTB-TSC dominated the statistics, taking 25 shots compared to only four by Bacone. Both of Bacone's shots came during the first half and both were on goal. The Scorpions had 11 shots on goal.

Jessica Hamer played all 90 minutes at goalkeeper for the Scorpions and had two saves.

The victory was the third tournament semifinal for Scorpions athletics teams. The women's soccer, men's soccer and volleyball teams will be competing for their respective RRAC championships Saturday.

-- UTB-TSC Services