UTB-TSC Capsules: UTB-TSC men's soccer team triumphs, women tie
The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College men's and women's soccer teams opened Red River Athletic Conference action against Our Lady of the Lake University of San Antonio with matches on Saturday at REK Center Field. The Scorpions won the men's match 2-1, while the UTB-TSC women tied 1-1 in double overtime.
Both Scorpions squads are defending conference champions.
In the men's match, OLLU (5-1-1, 0-1 RRAC) went up 1-0 during the the 20th minute on Ramiro Ramirez's goal. Juan Nava scored for UTB-TSC (4-3-1, 1-0) during the 42nd minute to create a 1-all halftime score. The Saints had a player red-carded near the end of the first half and played a man down until there were four minutes left in regulation and a second Saints player was red-carded.
Steve Howard scored on a penalty kick for UTB-TSC during the 85th minute to provide the victory after the second OLLU player was ejected. Less than a minute later, however, Howard was himself red-carded as tempers on both sides flared.
"I'm not quite sure if it was actually a penalty, but at the end of the day, we'll take it," UTB-TSC men's coach Dan Balaguero said. "(The OLLU player) stomped on Nava, but it may have been a bad tackle.
"I felt like we played well, but (these OLLU) guys made it extremely difficult for us tonight, and that's a credit to them," he added. "It wasn't easy, but at the end of the day we won, and that's what it's all about."
The Scorpions had seven shots on goal compared to two for the Saints.
The UTB-TSC women rallied with a second-half goal to gain their 1-1 double-overtime tie. Victoria Vazquez's goal during the 33rd minute gave the OLLU women (5-0-1, 0-0-1) a 1-0 edge. The Scorpions (4-2-2, 0-0-1) evened the tally on Samantha Garcia's goal during the 81st minute thanks to an assist by Helen Wagstaff.
Neither team could score during 20 minutes of overtime. UTB-TSC goalkeeper Emily Michna preserved the tie for the Scorpions with 4:29 remaining in the second OT when she blocked a penalty kick taken by OLLU's Hannah Collazo. Michna deflected the penalty shot and it bounced off the crossbar before being cleared by a UTB-TSC defender.
"This is a big rivalry game for us, and I thought our girls did really good," said UTB-TSC women's assistant coach Shane Sanchez, who took over when Scorpions head coach Nikola "Nik" Barjaktarevic was ejected via a red card at the end of 90 minutes of regulation for arguing with the officials. "It was good that we were able to get our (second-half) goal to get us back in the game. And of course, if you have a penalty kick awarded against you with just a few minutes left in the second overtime, it's quite an accomplishment to still come out with a tie.
"It was a good battle," Sanchez added. "There are definitely some things that we can improve on. But we're proud of how our players fought and kept from losing at the end. It was a fantastic effort by Emily."
It was an intense match as each team had a player red-carded near the end of regulation. UTB-TSC finished with five shots on goal, while OLLU had four. Michna had three saves, while OLLU goalkeeper Megan Ochoa, a former McAllen High standout, had four saves.
The UTB-TSC women, coming off a 2-0 road win over Texas A&M International on Sept. 23, next play a non-conference match at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the University of Houston-Victoria. The UTB
The UTB-TSC men and women contine RRAC action at home Thursday against University of the Southwest. The women's match is scheduled for 1 p.m. with the men's game to follow at 3 p.m.
Roy Hess writes for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him via e-mail at rhess@brownsvilleherald.com.
Volleyball
Scorpions take care of business against SAGU
No. 5 University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College played strong in all phases of the game as the Scorpions dominated Southwestern Assemblies of God 3-0 in Red River Athletic Conference volleyball Saturday afternoon at Manuel Garza B. Gymnasium.
The 25-9, 25-13, 25-15 victory was the 44th straight regular season win for the Scorpions, who are 16-0 and 6-0 in RRAC play. SAGU dropped to 9-10 and 2-3 in RRAC matches.
In workmanlike fashion, the Scorpions controlled the net, with Katharina Nobel enjoying her best match of the season. She had 10 kills in 13 attacks without an error for a .769 hitting percentage. She added six digs, two solo blocks and one assisted block.
Danica Markovic had 12 kills on 31 swings with three errors for a .290 hitting percentage, and posted a double-double with 15 digs.
UTB-TSC coasted to wins in the first two sets, but SAGU put up a challenge in the third set. Scorpions coach Todd Lowery called time out with the Scorpions ahead 13-12, and the team responded by scoring 12 of the next 15 points for the 25-15 win.
The Scorpions had a .315 hitting percentage, marking the third straight match where they have hit better than .300 as a team.
Ana Guerra had seven kills in 13 swings with one error for a .462 hitting percentage. She also added two solo blocks and one assisted block.
Erica Chimak added nine kills. Tamires Ferreira 35 assists, and Gregner Gotay-Quinones 25 digs.
The Scorpions are home for their next three matches, starting with an Oct. 8 meeting against University of St. Thomas. UTB-TSC will observe Breast Cancer Awareness Night by wearing pink jerseys for the match.
Survivors of breast cancer will be recognized at the match.
The other two home matches will be Oct. 9 and 10, and will be the final home appearances for the Scorpions.
-- UTB-TSC Services
