CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M men's soccer team couldn't close out the regular season with a win as the Buffs fell to the St. Edward's Hilltoppers, 4-3. WT finishes the regular season with a 7-6-4 record and 4-3-2 mark in conference play.
 
WT game off the opening kickoff with an attacking advantage, advancing up the field in the opening minutes. Dylan Watson had his early opportunity blocked before Theo Bennetts sent a shot off target. The Buffs stayed on the Hilltoppers' side of the field where they earned a throw in. Looking to push the pace, Sam Scarth sent a long pass down field for Gabriel Nevarez. Although it looked like SEU goalkeeper Kaleo Francis beat Nevarez to the ball, Nevarez tapped the ball past Francis and fired a shot into the goal. St. Edward's responded in the 29^th minute when the Hilltoppers earned a free kick. On the kick, Asaf Kristal came off his line to punch the ball away but couldn't get it past Donovan Eerkes-McCarthy who intercepted the pass and converted the goal.
 
The Hilltoppers took their first advantage of the game 10 minutes later as Bartosz Zabek stole the ball of a WT defender's foot. With the rest of the field in front of him, Zabek entered the 18-yard box where he lifted a shot into the goal. The Buffs didn't let St. Edward's hold the lead for long. On Keaton Hartman's throw from the sideline, Beck Adams headed the ball to the goal where Rotem Weiss poked the ball past the keeper and into the back of the goal. With two and a half minutes to play in the first half, the Hilltoppers took the lead back after earning a corner. On St. Edward's first corner, Zabek watched Kristal push his shot over the goal to set up another attempt. Zabek took full advantage of the opportunity as Kristal pushed the ball once again but couldn't get enough of it as the ball found the side netting.
 
After halftime, the Hilltoppers carried over the momentum they gained into the second half. St. Edward's stole possession from the Buffs and started to advance up the field where Todd Fuller sent an advancing pass to Joaquin Maud. Maud beat his defenders to give his team a two-goal advantage. Attempting to get back into the game, Trevor Suggs placed a ball on frame from six yards out, but Francis made the save. The Buffs looked to have a clean look when D'Jonte Davis moved his way through the defense. Davis curled a shot which Francis couldn't save cleanly. As Matteo Landais swooped in to clean up, Francis barely got a hand on the ball to clear the threat. The Hilltoppers fought off multiple Buffs advances as the clock went under a minute to play. Davis attempted to spark a comeback for WT after being tripped in the box, setting up a penalty kick for Landais. Landais converted the kick with 20 seconds to play, but St. Edward's wasted the remaining time.
 
Pending later results, the Buffs enter the Lone Star Conference tournament as the second seed and earn a bye to the semifinals. Game times and opponents have yet to be announced for the tournament at Stang Park in Wichita Falls, Texas.