CANYON, TEXAS – West Texas A&M Men's Soccer (2-3) snapped their three-game losing streak Saturday afternoon as they shutout Newman 1-0 for the victory.
Ben Scotford would score the game-winning goal in the eighth minute.
The Buffaloes set the tone early as they extended early pressure onto Newman which led to possession. WT found their grove offensively with a shot and corner kick in the first five minutes. In the 8th minute,
D'Jonte Davis came away with a turnover in the Buffs defensive midfield and launched a ball to
Felix Casas who made a great run into the Buffs attacking zone. Casas corralled the ball and set it up to
Ben Scotford just outside the box. The Captain dribbled through four Jets defenders as he penetrated into the box. In the middle of the box with a clean look, Scotford fired a shot at the top left corner with his left foot which found the back of the net for the early Buffs lead. WT would generate four more shots (two on goal) and a corner kick the remainder of the half but could not double their lead. Defensively, the Buffaloes were superb as they limited the Jets to only two shots with one on goal. They controlled possession and hindered the Newman offense as they went into the break leading 1-0.
WT's offense carried over into the second half as produced five shots (two on goal) and two corner kicks through the first eight minutes. West Texas A&M nearly doubled their lead in the 53rd minute as
Edward Acosta forced a turnover in their attacking zone. The Buffs played with pace as the ball got back to Acosta who fired a shot but it would be saved and bounced right in front of Scotford. He then took his chance looking for a brace but would also be denied. Newman would start to find their offensive footing as they started to produce shots, but nothing came to fruition. They nearly tied the game in the 66th minute with a goal, but after review it was deemed they were offsides as the goal was rescinded. The Buffs defense tightened up from that point as Newman only had two shots (one on goal) and two corners the rest of the way. West Texas A&M's offense continued to hum and while they did not find a second goal for insurance, they created quality chances and opportunities to continuously apply pressure. The Buffs held firm on their 1-0 lead as they ultimately came away with the victory.
Top Buffs
- Ben Scotford scored his first goal of the season in 75 minutes. He produced five shots with two landing on goal.
- Felix Casas came away with an assist in his 71 minutes of action. Casas fired five shots with one landing on goal. This was Casas' second assist and fourth point on the year.
- Bryce Cottle started in goal and came away with three saves in his first shutout and first win of the year. He also added one shot on goal in all 90 minutes.
Buffalo Bits
- West Texas A&M is now 7-0-1 all-time against Newman.
- WT led the game in shots (17-6), shots on goal (7-3), and corner kicks (5-3).
- This was the Buffs second shutout of the season.
- Edward Acosta fired four shots with three landing on goal in 51 minutes. Both were season-highs for Acosta.
- Bobby Murphy, Joe Ballenger, Octavio Estrada-Vazquez, and Damron Atkins all played 90 minutes in the game. This was Murphy's second game going the distance while it was Ballenger's first, Estrada-Vazquez' third and Atkins' third. Estrada-Vazquez and Atkins have played all 90 minutes in three straight games.
- Antonio De La Torre recorded one shot in 36 minutes.
- D'Jonte Davis logged 73 minutes at forward.
- Gianluca Pedroso made his first start of the season and played 53 minutes.
Up Next
The Buffs will be back in action on Thursday, September 17 as they travel to Salem, Oregon to take on Northwest Nazarene.
For all the latest on West Texas A&M Men's Soccer, stay tuned to
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