FORT WORTH, TX: The Texas Wesleyan University men's soccer team (3-1) suffered its first loss of the season 2-0 at the hands of the University of Houston-Victoria (2-2) at Martin Field on Friday.
The Rams struggled to create opportunities, but their defense was up to the task through the first 45 minutes. Houston-Victoria outshot Texas Wesleyan 8-1 in the opening frame, but the game remained scoreless through the break.
In the 55th minute, Uriel Garcia headed in a corner kick from Juan Vega to break the tie. The Jaguars added a goal from Jose Munoz off a cross from the near right wing by Miguel Cruz in the 78th minute.
Perhaps Texas Wesleyan's best scoring chance came in the 64th minute when
Shaun Miltner drew a foul just outside the box on the right wing.
Alex Ellis played an excellent ball through the box right to left across the face of the goal, but the Rams were unable to get a body on the ball as it sailed through and out of bounds.
For the game, the Jaguars outshot the Rams 16-6 and led 10-4 in corner kicks. Texas Wesleyan battled a lopsided foul count all night with the final tally 20-7 in favor of the visitors.
Marko Jovanovic (3-1) made three saves in the loss. Brian Redmond need two saves to complete the shutout.
The Rams will return to action on Tuesday, when they host Huston-Tillotson University. That game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm start at Martin Field.
Ramblings
- The Rams are now 1-1 all-time vs. Houston-Victoria. The all-time series with Huston-Tillotson is tied 6-6-1.
- Friday's game marked Texas Wesleyan's first regular season loss since falling 1-0 against Wayland Baptist on October 25, 2014. That is a 5-0-1 stretch. It was also the first time the Rams were shutout since that game against Wayland Baptist, a 6-1-1 stretch including postseason play.
