SALEM, OREGON – West Texas A&M Men's Soccer (2-5) fell 4-1 to Saint Martin's University 4-1 Saturday morning as they wrapped up non-conference play.
Felix Casas scored the lone goal for the Buffs.
WT would find themselves in an early deficit as Saint Martin's scored a goal in the 6th minute of the game. After defending against a corner kick which directly led to a shot by the Saints in the 16th minute, the Buffs would start to settle into the match. Momentum started to swing in favor of WT as
Oumar Berete nearly tied the game in the 21st minute with a shot, but it would be saved. One minute later in the 22nd minute,
Felix Casas equalized the game as he blasted a shot 10 yards out in the top right corner of the box which found the back of the net. SMU would halt that momentum as three minutes later they scored their second goal of the half as they retook the lead in the 26th minute. The defenses of both teams picked up from that point as three more shots and two corner kicks were combined the rest of the half. Each keeper would come away with a key save in the 38th and 39th minute as the score remained 2-1 going into halftime.
Out of the break, SMU would again score a goal six minutes into the half as Juan Diaz scored his second of the game in the 51st minute to give the Saints a 3-1 advantage. The Buffs would limited offensively in the second half as they did not record a shot until the 70th minute where
Damron Atkins would have his shot blocked off a corner kick.
Octavio Estrada-Vazquez would produce a pair of shots in the 81st and 82nd minutes, but both would be saved as time ticked away. SMU added a fourth goal off a penalty kick in the 83rd minute as the score finalized at 4-1.
Top Buffs
- Felix Casas scored the lone goal for WT which was his second of the year. Casas is up to six points which leads the team. He also tallied two shots which both landed on goal during his 76 minutes.
- Octavio Estrada-Vazquez played 62 minutes on defense and fired two shots on goal.
- Oumar Berete landed his shot on goal in his 60 minutes in the midfield.
Buffalo Bits
- West Texas A&M is now 1-1-0 all-time against Saint Martin's.
- WT led the game in corner kicks (6-4).
- Damron Atkins and Joe Balleneger each played all 90 minutes. This was Atkins' fifth straight and fifth overall game going the distance while this was Ballenger's third straight and third overall game playing 90 minutes. Atkins also recorded one shot.
- Ben Scotford and Axel Martinez both registered one shot. Scotford played 78 minutes while Martinez made his first start of the season and played 37 minutes.
- D'Jonte Davis logged 82 minutes at forward.
- Bryce Cottle started in goal and made one save in 69 minutes.
- Zach Kos made his season debut in goal and played 21 minutes.
Up Next
The Buffs will be back in action on Wednesday, September 23 as they open Lone Star Conference play against Texas A&M International. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. in Laredo, Texas.
For all the latest on West Texas A&M Men's Soccer, stay tuned to
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