WICHITA, Kan. – The sixth-ranked St. Edward's Men's Soccer team scored two second-half goals to keep its spotless Heartland Conference record in tact with a 2-0 road victory over Newman Saturday afternoon at Wilkins Field. The game was a rematch of last year's Heartland Conference Tournament Championship.
Newman (6-5-1, 1-1 HC) controlled the offensive play in the first half, outshooting the Hilltoppers, 6-1. They also had three shots on goal, but St. Edward's goalkeeper
KEVIN LEIB proved why he was one of the best in the nation with three saves.
In the second half, Newman opened with another shot on goal but Leib was there for another save.
That's when St. Edward's (8-1-2, 3-0 HC) started to get things rolling offensively.
JULIAN SANCHEZ had a shot on goal in the 55
th minute that the Newman goalkeeper saved. After two-straight cornerkicks by the Hilltoppers, they drew a foul at the top of the penalty box. Sophomore
PABLO COVARRUBIAS took the kick in the 59
th minute and drilled it to the upper left corner of the goal for his fourth tally of the season.
In the 70
th minute, St. Edward's registered its second goal of the game.
DYLAN ARMSTRONG struck a shot that was saved but not corralled by Newman.
RYAN DENDINGER was there for the rebound and his third goal of the season. Armstrong had the assist on the play.
That is how the game would end. The Hilltoppers outshot the Jets, 8-1 in the second half and for the game, 9-7. They also placed five shots on goal compared to just two for Newman.
"I am really proud of the team today," St. Edward's Head Coach Brian Young said. "A lot of players who did not get a lot of playing time versus Midwestern State made the difference today. Newman is a very tough place to play over the last 10 years, and this was an excellent Heartland and Regional result for our program. We will get some rest from a tough and physical road trip, then recover to compete against a hard-working Dallas Baptist team next week."
St. Edward's will return home to host Dallas Baptist on Wednesday. Kickoff is set for 4:00 p.m. at Lewis-Chen Family Field. Live video and stats will be available on the Hilltopper Athletic Website.
