AUSTIN, Texas - The 16th-ranked St. Edward's Men's Soccer team erased a 1-0 deficit with three-unanswered goals to defeat UT-Permian Basin, 3-1, Thursday afternoon at Lewis-Chen Family Field. The victory keeps the Hilltoppers atop the Heartland Conference standings.
Freshman goalkeeper
WILLIAM TUFFIN, who was making his first career start allowed only the seventh goal of the season against the Hilltoppers in the 27
th minute to UT-Permian Basin's Nathan Cottrell. After a loose ball resulted from a cornerkick, Cottrell sent a low liner into the goal from 25 yards out through a crowd of people for his eighth goal of the season.
In the 35
th minute,
STEVE AOUDOU found
DYLAN ARMSTRONG with a through ball and he went far post from 15 yards away to equal the score 1-1.
Third time was a charm for
JOSH TAYLOR, who after two blocked shots finally found an opening in the goal early in the 41
st minute. A cornerkick from
PABLO COVARRUBIAS found Taylor from 10 yards out for his second goal of the season.
The second half began with Covarrubias' seventh goal of the season. A header in the 58
th minute came after some brilliant two-man game play sent a cross into the box. That would be the last goal scored by both teams, and the last of the rain for the day.
St. Edward's goalkeeper
KEVIN LEIB and Tuffin each had a save on the day. Fouls were fairly even throughout the match ending with an 11-9 advantage for the Falcons, who also were called for three yellow cards, while the Hilltoppers accumulated one.
"We started way too slow in the match today and UTPB punished us with a great finish," head coach Brian Young said. "After we brought on some substitutes, the energy increased a lot and allowed us to turn the game around by playing positive soccer and defending well. Lubbock will be a very good team, and we need a better start to compete with them right away on Saturday."
St. Edward's outshot the Falcons, 17-7.
The Hilltoppers will be back in action Saturday when they host Lubbock Christian. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. at Lewis-Chen Family Field. Live coverage can be found on the Hilltopper Athletic Website.
