MARSHALL, Texas – Picking up their first victory of the season at home on Saturday, the East Texas Baptist University men's soccer team will hit the road this week for two contests. ETBU will first make a stop in Birmingham, Ala., where they will take on Birmingham-Southern College on Thursday, Sept. 6. They will then conclude the road trip with a stop in Mount Berry, Ga,. for a contest against Berry College (Ga.).
In ETBU's first home game of 2018, the Tigers took down Schreiner University 2-1, with both goals coming in the second half. It was freshman Rafael Majares who scored the team's only official goal in the win which was his first collegiate goal. The Tigers launched 10 shots total, seven of them coming right at the net. The combination of
Bryant Botello and
Justin Groves tallied eight total saves on Saturday.
Travis Floyd and
Dominic Wood led the team in shot attempts, with two apiece.
Entering Thursday night's match, BSC boasts a record of 2-0 after defeating Cal Lutheran 3-0 and The University of the Ozarks 2-1 in overtime. As a team, the Panthers have scored five goals on 24 total shots. BSC has recorded an on-goal shooting percentage of .500 and a shot percentage of .208. Leading the way is junior Ryan Hepp, who has scored two goals and dished out one assist for a total of five points in the early season. This is the first meeting between the Tigers and the Panthers entering the Thursday matchup.
The Berry College Vikings join the list of undefeated teams heading into the weekend contest, also. BC defeated the Ozarks 2-1 in the BSC Labor Day Classic on Friday. The Vikings followed up the win with a convincing 5-2 defeat of Cal Lutheran on Sunday afternoon. BC has scored seven goals on 14.5 shots per game so far this season. The Vikings have managed a shot percentage of .241 with an on goal percentage of .586. Junior Jake Williamson lead's the charge with a total of four points, connecting on two goals thus far. This is the first meeting between ETBU and BC.
With the road trip set to get under way, Head Coach
Chris Crawford is focused on the team's level of execution against this week's opponents.
"I'm excited for the first road trip of the season. It's good for us to get away from campus and play two tough teams this week, and continue to measure where we are as a program. Guys are excited and ready to get back into action as we continue to improve each day," Crawford said.
The first match is set for 7:00 p.m. on Thursday night from Birmingham, Ala.
