LUBBOCK, Texas — St. Edward's men's soccer spent much of the first half absorbing pressure before flipping the match after halftime, only for Lubbock Christian to capitalize on two moments against the run of play in a 2-0 Hilltopper loss Saturday afternoon.
The Hilltoppers entered halftime scoreless despite being outshot 10-4, then emerged from the break as the aggressor. St. Edward's generated 14 shots over the final 45 minutes, putting seven on frame, while limiting the Chaparrals to six attempts. The turnaround gave St. Edward's an 18-16 advantage in shots for the match, along with an 8-5 edge in corner kicks and 53 percent of the possession.
Lubbock Christian controlled the opening minutes, testing goalkeeper Edward Alonzi twice in the first 13 minutes. Alonzi stopped Augusto Militao in the second minute and Thomas Unwin in the 13th before adding another save on Finn Wijnen late in the half.
St. Edward's struggled to turn possession into clear chances early, but found some opportunities through IZAIAH GARZA, NEMANJA PAVICEVIC, and BARTEK ZABEK. The Hilltoppers also earned four first-half corners despite putting none of their four shots on target.
The complexion changed immediately after halftime.
St. Edward's pushed numbers forward and began consistently finding shooting opportunities around the Lubbock Christian penalty area. However, the Chaparrals struck first at 50:42 when Joao Catafesta set up Alex Lachevre for the opening goal.
Rather than retreat after falling behind, the Hilltoppers produced their most sustained attacking stretch of the afternoon.
Pavicevic forced second-half goalkeeper Arath Valdez into his first save in the 54th minute. HOLDEN RABB followed with another effort on target six minutes later, and TIMMY HOLLENBECK tested Valdez less than a minute afterward. Garza then sent an attempt wide before SHUNJI WATANABE forced another save in the 64th minute.
The pressure continued with JAKE CICCARELLO and Watanabe putting consecutive shots on frame in the 73rd and 74th minutes. Valdez answered each time, preserving the one-goal advantage.
St. Edward's momentum was interrupted moments later when Lubbock Christian was awarded a penalty kick. Catafesta converted in the 76th minute to double the Chaparrals' lead to 2-0.
Even down two, the Hilltoppers continued attacking. Zabek had consecutive attempts blocked in the 79th and 80th minutes before EASTON JONES pushed a shot wide. Zabek and Garza each generated another chance in the 86th minute, and Zabek put St. Edward's final attempt on target in the 88th, but Valdez made his seventh save of the half to complete the shutout.
The contrast between halves was stark. After Lubbock Christian held a 10-4 advantage in shots and 3-0 edge in shots on goal before halftime, St. Edward's outshot the Chaparrals 14-6 and put seven attempts on target over the final 45 minutes.
Zabek led St. Edward's with five shots, while Garza and Watanabe finished with three apiece. Watanabe put two attempts on goal, and Alonzi made four saves in net. The loss drops St. Edward's to 1-5-2 overall and 0-2 in Lone Star Conference play, while Lubbock Christian improves to 4-4-1 and 1-1.
