Scorpions try for soccer wins at home against OLLU

With their Red River Athletic Conference openers coming up next week, the men's and women's soccer teams at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College will try to gain some much-needed momentum with wins at home Saturday against Our Lady of the Lake University of San Antonio.

The UTB-TSC women play OLLU at 5 p.m. at Morningside Park. The Scorpion men's match against OLLU follows at 7 p.m.

It's an emerging rivalry between the two schools as OLLU is expected to join the RRAC in the near future. Also, the OLLU men's and women's rosters include a number of Rio Grande Valley athletes and are coached by Harlingen native Shane Hurley.

"We feel that our game with OLLU can become a great rivalry in the future, and we know it will be a tough match for us," UTB-TSC women's soccer coach Nikola "Nik" Barjaktarevic said. "Both teams are new, and although we had a great year last year, we still have to come out fired up to win this game."

The UTB-TSC men lost to OLLU 1-0 in overtime in San Antonio last year on a goal by ex-Hanna standout Tomas Flores.

"OLLU will be a very difficult match for us," Scorpion men's soccer coach Dan Balaguero said. "Last year, they beat us, so we really need to return the favor at home. It is an important match for us as we must get a win under our belt before Tuesday's RRAC opener at Huston-Tillotson."

Weekend action for Scorpion athletics begins today as the UTB-TSC volleyball team plays in Missouri against Missouri Baptist University at 1 p.m. and Lindenwood University at 7 p.m. On Saturday, the Scorpions have matches on tap in Columbia, Mo., against Graceland University at noon and Columbia College at 2:30 p.m.

The UTB-TSC men's and women's golf teams are open this weekend. The Scorpion women are ranked 25th in the latest NAIA poll.