SAN ANTONIO (Nov. 1, 2019) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) men's soccer team defeated Texas A&M University-Texarkana (TAMUT) in the first round of the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) tournament 2-1. The Saints are seeded third in the tournament and move on to face second seed LSU-Shreveport (LSUS) on Nov. 7 at 6:30 p.m. in Texarkana, Texas.

Head Coach Shane Hurley commented on the win saying, "It was a good game, it was very disappointing that it got us as heated as it did. In the end it is just a game. It should've been treated as a game by everyone."

The Saints opened the scoring early in the first half with a goal from Luan Balestieri (JR/Erechim, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil). Balestieri made defenders miss on his own and set up an opportunity to score and put the Saints ahead 1-0. The Eagles tied the game ten minutes later with a goal from JuanCarlos Garibay-Jurado. Despite being outshot for the majority of the first half the Saints stormed back in the second half with a goal from Norberto Lira (SO/San Antonio, Texas) at the 77^th minute, which would prove to be the winning goal. Lira's goal came off a deflection that he located and put in the back of the net. Keelin Garrity (SO/Katy, Texas) made three saves in net and played the entire match. The teams combined for 19 fouls, with the majority coming in the second half.

Scoring overview

10' – OLLU – Luan Balestieri

21' – TAMUT – JuanCarlos Garibay-Jurado

77' – OLLU – Norberto Lira

Inside the box score

Leading the way for the Saints' offense were Lira and Bernard Alvarenga (JR/Vitoria, Espirito Santo, Brazil) with three shots each. Yassin Ghasemi led the Eagles with four shots.

Overall, the Saints tallied 12 shots, six on goal. TAMUT recorded 13 shots, four on goal.

OLLU starting keeper Garrity made three saves and played the duration of the match.

What's next

Men's soccer travels to Texarkana, Texas to compete in the semifinals of the RRAC Tournament against #21 NAIA ranked LSU-Shreveport on Nov. 7 at 6:30 p.m.