MARSHALL, Texas—After a scoreless first half, East Texas Baptist University's offensive might was too much for Howard Payne University, as the Tigers won, 2-0, in the American Southwest Conference opener. The Tigers are 6-3-0 on the year and 1-0 in the ASC.
The Tigers took 23 shots, eight of which were on goal, with 10 in the first and 13 in the second half.
Bruno Palmieri and
Junior Lopez were responsible for ETBU's goals in the second half.
Joel Garcia led the team in shots with seven, while
Dylan Garcia took three shots. Palmieri,
Junior Lopez,
Regan Trojacek all had two shots.
Joel Garcia led the team in shots on goal with two.
Lucas Arreguin, Palmieri,
Joseph Flores, Lopez, and
Jared Zuniga all had one shot on goal.
Ryan Lord finished with three saves in the shutout win.
The first half started great for ETBU, with the first shot on goal coming at 4:01 (Arreguin). This aggressive play was a sign of things to come. The Jackets' first goal-making opportunities came in two minutes, starting at five minutes in, but both of their attempts missed the back of the net. ETBU's offense continued, however, with pressure being applied with shots from Trojacek (12:32) and
Dylan Garcia (16:09). A shot on goal by
Joel Garcia at 23:21, followed by shots from
Ian Ebarb (26:59) and
Joel Garcia, again, kept the pressure on the Jackets. Defensively, ETBU played well as Lord made a save at 11:47, and the team stopped a shot at 28:53.
ETBU went after HPU in the second half with shots coming from Trojacek (52:48), Flores (53:20), and Palmieri (54:44), all in two minutes. With assistance from Trojacek (55:38), Palmieri gave the Tigers their first goal, 1-0. The Jackets, trying to get back in the game, took a shot, but it was stopped for a team save at 58:35. Undeterred, HPU tried again at 61:16 and 64:04, but both attempts went right, missing the goal. ETBU stayed on the attack with shots from Brendan Gajewski (74:02),
Leonardo Esteban (78:33), and
Junior Lopez (80:39) in six minutes. Lord kept the Tigers lead safe with a save at 83:36. Not long after a shot from
Matthew Aguilar (84:28), Lopez would make it 2-0 on an assist from
Joel Garcia for the second goal at 88:59. Lord stopped the final scoring attempt by the Jackets at 89:09 as ETBU took the 2-0 win.
ETBU will host Hardin-Simmons University on Saturday, September 28, at 3:30 PM.
