The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) men's soccer team was edged in a slugfest by the University of Texas at Brownsville, 1-0 Saturday at the OLLU soccer field. The game was the Saints' first conference match and brought OLLU's overall record to 3-4 on the season.

The wet and gloomy overcast conditions were a precursor to the action on the pitch as the teams throttled each other from the start. Within the first 10 minutes, the Scorpions of UT Brownsville had seized a 1-0 lead off a header from midfielder Fredrik Ekvall. The score proved to be all the Scorpions needed as the Saints struggled early to get going.

With about 10 minutes left in the half, the match got choppy as both teams started to rack up the fouls. The Saints used the physical play to feed their offense and managed to put the Scorpions back on their heels with several premium chances by senior defender Eric Torkildsen and freshman forward Yared Temesgen. The Saints' best chance came off a 26-yard rocket off the right foot of junior midfielder Esteban Rocha. Unfortunately, the Scorpions' goalkeeper, Juan Gamboa, was up to the challenge and parried the shot over the crossbar.

The physical play of the first half proved to only be an appetizer for the main course that would be the second half. Both teams stepped up the hard play in an effort not to get pushed off the pitch. Although the Saints dominated the action in the second half, they could manage only a handful of legitimate chances at net, and much like the first half, Gamboa was there to stifle any thoughts of a comeback.

With Gamboa solid in the rear, UT Brownsville settled into a counterattacking posture and used their speed up front to generate several attacks at the Saints defense. Strong play by junior defender Heriberto Salinas and sophomore defender Gary Hamilton kept the scoring chances at a minimum. Any shots that managed to get past the Saints defense were quickly dealt with by sophomore goalkeeper Marco Herrera, who finished the day with five saves.

Although the game featured 10 yellow cards and two red cards, the tenacity of the Saints to keep pressing the match nearly helped them to what would have been an upset of the 17th-ranked team on the NAIA Coaches Top 25 Poll.

Temesgen, freshman midfielder Ramiro Ramirez and freshman forward Octavio Herrera led the Saints with two shots each.