CANYON, TEXAS – West Texas A&M Men's Soccer (5-7-4, 2-2-4) picked up a key victory Wednesday evening at The Pitch as they took down Sul Ross State 2-0.
Bryce Cottle was stout in goal as he recorded six saves in the shutout.
The first stages of the game served as a defensive match with the teams battling in the midfield. SRSU fired the first shot on goal in the 13th minute, but Cottle cleanly saved that shot. WT got the board first as they scored in the 21st minute.
Axel Martinez drove into the box from the wing and crossed a pass into the middle channel. The ball reached the foot of
Felix Casas in front of the net who one-timed it into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead. West Texas A&M continued to create opportunities to double their lead but did not land a shot on goal the rest of the half. Defensively, the Buffaloes clamped up the Lobos as they limited their possession. Following their shot on goal in the 13th minute, they did not tally another shot the rest of the half. WT would go into halftime leading 1-0.
Out of the break, the Buffs came out setting the tone as
Delahmu Reeves produced four shots (two on goal) in the opening two minutes. Reeves continued to press searching for the goal and was ultimately rewarded in the 54th minute. Off a throw-in five yards off parallel from the box,
Joe Ballenger tossed an excellent ball into the box. Right in front of the keeper, Reeves jumped up and knocked in the ball past the outstretched arms of the keeper as he doubled the lead for WT. The Buffs stayed tight defensively with their 2-0 advantage as Cottle came up with five saves in the second half. The score would finalize at 2-0 as the Buffaloes picked up a key shutout victory.
Top Buffs
- Delahmu Reeves scored his first goal of the season in his 35 minutes. Reeves produced season-highs of six shots with three shots on goal in the game.
- Felix Casas scored for the second straight game with his fourth goal of the year. Casas is now up to 10 points which is tied for the team-high. He played 37 minutes and scored his lone shot.
- Bryce Cottle started in goal and made six-saves in his third shutout of the season. This was his fourth game with 6+ saves and third consecutive game as such.
Buffalo Bits
- West Texas A&M is now 1-1-1 all-time against Sul Ross State.
- WT led the game in shots (18-8), saves (6-4), and corner kicks (5-4).
- This was the Buffs fifth shutout of the season.
- Joe Ballenger tallied his first career point as a Buff with an assist while playing all 90 minutes on defense. This was his 12th consecutive game logging all 90 minutes.
- Axel Martinez recorded his first point of the season with an assist in his 44 minutes.
- Damron Atkins and Gianluca Pedroso both played all 90 minutes on defense. This was Atkins' 14th straight game with 90 minutes and Pedroso's fourth overall full game.
- Ben Scotford and Andrew Rodriguez each fired two shots. This was Scotford's seventh multi-shot game of the season.
- Renson Jr. Sayers and Myles Taylor each added a shot on goal. Sayers played 75 minutes in the match.
- Ivan Vegas Martin, Franky Oviedo, Joseluis Diaz, and Desire Essis each recorded one shot.
Up Next
The Buffs will be back in action on Saturday, October 24 as they travel to St. Mary's. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
For all the latest on West Texas A&M Men's Soccer, stay tuned to
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