Box Score Box Score

THE RUNDOWN
WICHITA FALLS, Texas – The No. 14-ranked St. Edward's University men's soccer team punched its ticket to the Heartland Conference Tournament championship match Friday thanks to a 6-1 win over No. 6-seeded St. Mary's behind two goals from PABLO COVARRUBIAS.

Covarrubias put the Hilltoppers (15-3-1) ahead in the 17' on an unassisted strike from 18 yards out. However, SEU managed just one more shot in the half as it carried a 1-0 lead into the break.

An own goal from St. Mary's (10-9-1) in the 50' gave St. Edward's some breathing room, but the Hilltoppers would not let up. In the final 40 minutes of action, SEU added four goals to its total thanks to strikes from Covarrubias (56'), OWAIN HOSKINS (71'), DEVIN WALTON (81') and BRANDON RANGEL (89').

The Rattlers ended SEU's shutout bid in the 79' on a well-struck ball from Ollie Wright. Hilltopper goalkeeper WILLIAM TUFFIN stood fast the rest of the match, recording a career-high seven saves on the way to his 15th win of the season.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• St. Edward's is 46-15-7 in the all-time series with St. Mary's.
• The Hilltoppers have not lost to the Rattlers since Sept. 23, 2011.
• Friday's match marked SEU's largest margin of victory in the postseason in program history.
• St. Edward's has won four-straight matches and seven of its last eight.
• Walton recorded his first-career goal and assist in his fifth appearance as a Hilltopper.
• Tejeda recorded the first assist of his career Friday night.
• Rangel has three goals and one assist this season in 14 appearances.
• Covarrubias has three-career multi-goal performances – his last coming Oct. 14, 2015 against DBU.
• NATE COONS recorded his second assist of the season in his 70th-career match.
• Coons has 10-career assists and three goals on 37 shots.
• Hoskins surpassed 20-career points on his 55th shot attempt.
• Tuffin has 55-career saves after his career-high seven stops Friday evening.
• Tuffin is 17-3-1 overall with eight shutouts and 49 stops this season.
• Head Coach Brian Young's all-time record is 151-86-27 in 14 seasons at SEU.

STAT OF THE GAME I
.750 – St. Edward's posted a shots on goal percentage of .750 despite being out shot 8-2 in the first half and 16-12 in the match.

STAT OF THE GAME II
14 – The Hilltoppers outscored St. Mary's 14-3 in three meetings this season, winning 6-1, 2-1 and 6-1.

TOP QUOTE
Head Coach Brian Young on the win…
"We had a slow start, and when we have a slow start we make it difficult for our team. We definitely need to start the game a lot quicker with whoever we play next. In the second half we tried to win every second ball, and once we got in we just played soccer after that."

Senior OWAIN HOSKINS on the match…
"I think it was a tale of two halves really. In the first half we came out pretty slow and St. Mary's is a very good side so I think we were lucky to be up at halftime. We got the lads together at halftime and talked and came out a lot better in the second half."

Senior PABLO COVARRUBIAS after scoring two goals…
"In the first 15-20 minutes I thought we were very poor. We couldn't keep the ball and they were all over us. After that first goal things started to fall into place. Being a senior, it was like this is now or never."
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Hilltoppers will face the winner of the second semifinal match between No. 1-seeded Midwestern State and No. 4-seeded Texas A&M-International in the championship match Sunday at 1 p.m. at Stang Park in Wichita Falls, Texas. Live stats and video will be available at GoHilltoppers.com.

Follow St. Edward's Men's Soccer all season long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @SEUMSoccer.