WICHITA FALLS, Texas – In a battle of heavyweights, sixth-ranked St. Edward's lost a second-half lead to fall to #1 Midwestern State, 3-2, Thursday evening at the MSU Soccer Field.
Midwestern State (8-0-1) got on the board first in the 16
th minute. Christian Okeke's cross through the box was not cleared by St. Edward's goalkeeper
KEVIN LEIB and Juan Farres was there for the easy tap-in.
For the rest of the first half, the Mustangs controlled the offensive attack, outshooting the Hilltoppers, 7-4. St. Edward's (7-1-2) did not have a shot on goal.
In the second half, the Hilltopper offense started to heat up. After St. Edward's sent one shot on goal to start the half,
GRANT MOBLEY struck gold. In the 57
th minute,
JOSH TAYLOR drove up the left side and sent a cross to the top of the box. Mobley's shot from 18 yards out was good and knotted the score, 1-1.
In the 68
th minute,
PABLO COVARRUBIAS' shot was saved by the Mustang goalkeeper and the Hilltoppers would gain a cornerkick. On the ensuing cornerkick from
JOSH TAYLOR,
OWAIN HOSKINS got his head on the ball, and played it to
SAMUEL JACKSON who scored his third goal of the season to put St. Edward's up, 2-1.
Clinging to its 2-1 lead, St. Edward's was ready for a Midwestern State final effort. The Mustangs equalized the game in the 78
th minute when Okeke dribbled to the end line and cut the ball back to the top of the box to find Gabriel Cavalcante for the goal.
In the 87
th minute, an almost identical goal was scored by Flavio Guzman to put the home team ahead, 3-2.
That is how the game would end, with Midwestern State outshooting St. Edward's, 19-9.
"It was an exciting soccer match, and both teams went for it," St. Edward's Head Coach Brian Young said. "Midwestern State finished its chances well and credit to them. We did not. We will get better from this game and we are already focused on Newman and the Heartland Conference."
St. Edward's will back to Heartland Conference play on Saturday when they travel to take on Newman. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. at Wilkins Field in Wichita, Kan. Both teams met in last year's Heartland Conference Tournament Championship. Live stats will be available on the Jet Athletic Website.
