UTRGV MEN’S SOCCER FALLS TO TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros men’s soccer team fell 1-0 to the Texas A&M International Dustdevils on Thursday at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex.

UTRGV (1-1-1) outshot the Dustdevils 19-5 and 8-3 with shots on goal, but TAMIU (1-2-0) scored the only goal needed early in the second half off the foot of Jordan Mase. TAMIU junior goalkeeper Robin Verhoeven had a stellar game with seven saves. UTRGV freshman goalkeeper Simon Madsen made two saves.

The Vaqueros dominated possession throughout the first half. They outshot the Dustdevils 12-1 and put four shots on goal in the first 45 minutes, but the match remained scoreless at halftime.

Junior forward Jason Robles and freshman forward Kgodiso Sukati played big roles in the attack as Robles showed off his ball control and passing while Sukati took five shots. Junior forward Oneeko Allen and junior defender Tristan Singh helped the Vaqueros keep the ball primarily in their offensive third in the first half.

The Dustdevils took their only shot of the first half in the final seconds, but it missed high. Though UTRGV continued to win the possession battle early in the second half, TAMIU made the most of its chances behind its speed and physicality. In the 57^th minute, Mase was charging hard to the net and got fouled inside the box to draw a penalty kick. He sent the PK under the diving Madsen to put his team on top, 1-0.

UTRGV responded with an aggressive attack and was helped by a corner kick to keep the ball bouncing around inside the box, but Verhoeven and TAMIU’s defense held strong. Madsen made a leaping save in the 65^th minute after a TAMIU corner kick. The freshman keeper made another save in the 70^th minute sliding out of the net.

Possession was a more even battle in the second half. Junior La Joya High alum Isaac Ochoa, senior defender Jan Engels and senior forward Moiad Ankir worked hard with the Vaqueros offense, but missed connections played UTRGV throughout the match. The Vaqueros were called for 11 fouls in the physical contest which saw four yellow cards issued, three to the Dustdevils and one to UTRGV.

Nico Weigandt and Maximiliano Moreno played well in the Dustdevils’ upset.

The Vaqueros turned up the attack mode with the clock winding down, taking three of their seven second-half shots in the last 10 minutes of the match. But the impressive effort by Verhoeven secured the win for the Dustdevils.

UTRGV will hit the road for the first time this season to take on SMU at 7 p.m. on Monday in Dallas.