LAREDO, Texas –
SAMUEL JACKSON's goal in the 26
th minute and another brilliant defensive performance by the St. Edward's defense led the Hilltoppers to 1-0 shutout of rival Texas A&M-International Thursday evening at Dustdevil Field.
After scoring three goals in his freshman season in 2014, Jackson notched the first game-winner of his career Thursday night. Hilltopper goalkeeper
KEVIN LEIB kept his season-opening shutout streak alive as he made three saves for his third shutout of the season.
In the early going, it was TAMU-International (1-2) who put the pressure on. The Dustdevils had back-to-back shots in the eighth minute but Hilltopper goalkeeper
KEVIN LEIB continued his outstanding play with two saves.
After a shot by
JACK BLANTON in the 14
th minute, St. Edward's (2-0-1) got its best opportunity of the match. Defender
OWAIN HOSKINS sent a long pass forward for Jackson who collected it, dribbled past his defender and beat the Dustdevil goalkeeper to the left post with his shot.
After that, things started to open up for the Hilltopper offense. St. Edward's outshot TAMU-International, 8-4 in the first frame. In the second half, it was much of the same, as the Hilltopper defense did not allow a shot on goal and the visitors finished with a 14-8 advantage in shots.
With the Hilltoppers shorthanded due to cards in their prior contest, freshmen
ANTONIO ARANA and
HUNTER WILLIAMS were forced into the starting lineup. The duo was outstanding as they played the entire 90 minutes in the shutout victory.
"It was a good team win as a lot of younger players got their first chance to play and did well," St. Edward's Head Coach Brian Young said. "It is a tough place to play and TAMIU is a good team. We created a lot of chances to score and moving forward we need to finish these chances if we want to improve."
St. Edward's will be back in action Sunday when they travel to take on Colorado Mines. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. MST at the CSM Soccer Field. The Orediggers are 2-0 on the season and ranked sixth in the region. The Hilltoppers are ranked third. Live stats will be available for the match on www.GoHilltoppers.com
