SHERMAN, Texas – Dominating the second half, East Texas Baptist University opened the 2026 season with a shutout victory over Austin College, 2-0. ETBU has now won four of the last five meetings vs. the Kangaroos, and it's their first shutout in the series since 2014, when it was a 0-0 2 OT tie.
Braxton Ladwig netted both goals as ETBU had 11 shots with six on goal as he led the team with two shots on goal, while three others had a single shot on goal. ETBU took seven shots in the second half with goals in the 52
nd and 64
th minutes.
Jacob Wenzel and
Graylen Bowman each had an assist.
Ryan Lord earned the shutout, recording four saves on four shots.
ETBU held AC to just one shot in the first half but took only four with two on goal and one hitting the crossbar. ETBU's shots on goal came in the 13
th minute by Jacob Whittingham and in the 36
th minute from
James Mastrangelo as it was 0-0 at the half.
AC pushed ETBU in the first four minutes of the second half as Lord stopped two of their shots in the 48
th and 49
th minutes to keep it at 0-0. Ladwig connected on the first goal of the year three minutes after Lord's last save in the 52
nd minute in the first shot of the second half on an assist from Bowman. Three more shots came in the next six minutes before Ladwig made it 2-0 in the 64
th minute with the assist from Wenzel. There were two more shots after that, with one on goal by
Jacob Viator.
ETBU will have its home opener on Friday at 7:00 p.m. against Southwestern University.
