CANYON, Texas – St. Edward's men's soccer closed its inaugural season back in spectacular fashion, defeating the Lone Star Conference's second-place team with a 4-3 win over the West Texas A&M Buffaloes. 
 
The new Hilltoppers showed sparks of the program's former glory all season, making spectacular runs that fizzled in the final third or building towards goals with connective passing that fell off the woodwork. 
 
St. Edward's progress was marked by each opportunity to face an opponent a second time, making significant leaps against Dallas Baptist, St. Mary's, and now, West Texas A&M. 
 
The Hilltoppers battled several teams on equal terms for significant portions of each match, sometimes allowing inexperience to give ground with decisive goals. Against then-ranked No. 16 St. Mary's, the Hilltoppers carried momentum until a late free kick surrendered the game-winner. In the rematch, St. Edward's had several set-piece opportunities to upset that just missed in the draw against the No. 24-ranked Rattlers. 
 
Against West Texas A&M in the first go-round, St. Edward's played a man down for the final eight minutes to survive with the draw. On Wednesday night, all those moments, all those sparks finally ignited in a victorious display of firepower. 
 
West Texas A&M struck first when Sam Scarth sent a perfect pass over the top of the Hilltopper defense from just before midfield, dropping the ball in the box just shy of Hilltopper keeper KALEO FRANCIS and into the boot of Gabriel Nevarez, who made the touch to get the ball away from Francis and fired a shot into the goal in the eighth minute. 
 
St. Edward's responded with an equalizer out of a free kick just shy of the 29th minute. BARTEK ZABEK triggered the play from near the left sideline, sending the ball to the far back post. West Texas A&M keeper Asaf Kristal made the diving save to punch the ball away, but the rebound landed directly in front of DONOVAN EERKES-MCCARTHY, who capitalized with the equalizer.
 
Zabek connected on his own goal when the Hilltoppers' JOAQUIN MAUD poked the ball loose from a West Texas A&M player near midfield, and Zabek took the ball the length of the field, cut back against a trailing defender to create a lane, and rocketed the ball into the net in the 39th minute. 
 
Rotem Weiss tied the game late in the first half, scoring on a quick series of passes from Beck Adams and Keaton Hartman with less than four minutes remaining in the half. However, Zabek put the Hilltoppers back on top on a corner kick, bending the ball into the wind and off Kristal's fingertips for the go-ahead goal with a little more than two minutes remaining. 
 
Maud added an insurance goal in the second half when a quick series of one-touch passes near midfield ended in a perfectly weighted through ball from TODD FULLER to Maud for the goal. 
 
St. Edward's got stellar play from Francis in the net in the second half, stopping six of West Texas A&M's seven shots on goal in the half, with the Buffaloes' second-half score coming on a penalty kick with 20 seconds remaining. 
 
"I'm happy for the guys. They earned the win away from home against the conference's No. 2 team," St. Edward's Head Men's Soccer Coach Brian Young says. "We were close in a lot of matches all year. We need to improve in the spring and keep climbing after this restart season, and we will." 
 
St. Edward's closes one of the most demanding schedules in the Lone Star Conference, playing six nationally-ranked teams, with a 1-10-5 record, including 0-5-3 in conference play in its first season back as a varsity program.