AUSTIN, Texas — St. Edward's men's soccer left Richardson last week needing a response to keep its postseason hopes alive. Eight goals and two victories later, the Hilltoppers return with an opportunity to change the outcome.
Fifth-seeded St. Edward's faces fourth-seeded UT Dallas on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Lone Star Conference Tournament quarterfinals. The Hilltoppers finished the regular season 5-7-4 overall and 4-4-2 in conference play, earning their place with consecutive victories over DBU and West Texas A&M. UT Dallas enters 10-2-6 overall after securing a home quarterfinal with Wednesday's victory over UT Tyler.
The rematch comes 10 days after the Comets defeated St. Edward's 3-0 behind Avery Brazzell's hat trick. Since then, the Hilltoppers have found different ways to produce the offense their season required: four second-half goals to rally past DBU on Senior Day, followed by four first-half goals to seize control at West Texas A&M.
BARTEK ZABEK supplied four goals across those victories, including Wednesday's first-half hat trick. He opened the scoring with a low free kick, then added two goals 13 seconds apart, finishing an attack developed through IZAIAH GARZA before running onto FILIP ADAMSKI's lofted pass behind the defense. SHUNJI WATANABE added the other goal as St. Edward's built the separation needed to withstand the Buffaloes' second-half response.
Zabek enters the tournament with eight goals, matching Brazzell's total for the Comets. His recent production has come through both restarts and open play, giving the Hilltoppers several ways to threaten a defense that has been among UT Dallas' most dependable strengths.
The challenge is sustaining that variety against an opponent that allows only 0.83 goals per match and has recorded eight shutouts. Goalkeeper Ryder Claborn owns a .779 save percentage with 53 saves, providing a reliable final line behind a defense that limits opponents to 9.8 shots per match.
St. Edward's created opportunities in the first meeting, finishing with 13 shots to UT Dallas' 16 and putting five on target. Zabek took five attempts, while Watanabe generated four, including two on goal. But the Hilltoppers were chasing almost immediately after Brazzell scored from the rebound of a Callum Thompson header just 49 seconds into the match.
The deficit remained one until the 59th minute, when Osi Iyamah sent a long pass into Brazzell's run behind the defense. Brazzell finished his hat trick from the penalty spot in the 86th minute. For St. Edward's, the sequence underscores the importance of staying with runners after the initial challenge and protecting the space behind its back line.
Brazzell has converted eight goals from only 23 shots this season, putting 18 attempts on target. Iyamah adds six goals and three assists, making him both a finishing threat and a supplier for Brazzell's movement. Together, they account for 14 of the Comets' 36 goals.
UT Dallas also draws offense from its defenders and midfielders. Thompson headed in Evan Pustejovsky's free kick against West Texas A&M, while Julio De Los Reyes scored from Luca Foschi's corner against Midwestern State. Those contributions make defending restarts a collective assignment, with the Hilltoppers needing to track threats beyond the Comets' leading forwards.
The Comets have shown they can survive difficult stretches and find a decisive moment late. UT Tyler outshot them 18-8 in Wednesday's finale, but Claborn made seven saves, and penalties converted by Foschi and Alexis Cruz 34 seconds apart turned a deficit into a 2-1 victory. Ten different players have supplied the game-winning goals in UT Dallas' 10 victories.
St. Edward's has demonstrated its own persistence. Against DBU, the Hilltoppers erased a 3-1 deficit despite playing the final 20 minutes with 10 men, with Watanabe drawing the late free kick that Zabek delivered for PAOLO VELA's winner. At West Texas A&M, they paired that resolve with an explosive start. Saturday calls for both qualities against a team that punished early mistakes in the first meeting.
The winner advances to face top-seeded Midwestern State in Wichita Falls on Wednesday, Nov. 4. For the Hilltoppers, the next step begins where their late-season response started: back in Richardson, with another chance to extend the season.
