FORT WORTH, Texas — Texas Wesleyan (6-6-5, 4-3-1 SAC) lost to Mid-America Christian (14-1-2, 7-0-1 SAC) 3-2 on Saturday. After a scoreless first half, Texas Wesleyan scored twice in the second half but allowed three goals and was outshot 14-6 overall.
Texas Wesleyan came through a first half of limited chances with the match still scoreless, as
Noah Epler-McDonnell and the back line kept Mid-America Christian off the board. Earlier, Mid-America Christian earned a fifth-minute corner and shots by Filliph Kamfjord and Leonardo Leitao in the opening nine minutes, but neither put Texas Wesleyan behind. Epler-McDonnell made the half's lone recorded save on Ellis Dunn's shot at 29:11, and Texas Wesleyan later generated its best late sequence when
Nathaniel Neang had a shot blocked at 41:09 before
Peter Tenorio took a corner kick at 42:11. The half ended 0-0.
Texas Wesleyan mounted a late second-half rally, with
Diogo Stefane converting a penalty kick at 76:52 and
Rudy Gonzalez scoring off
Nestor Salazar's assist at 90:00, but Mid-America Christian finished with a 3-2 win. Earlier, Texas Wesleyan fell behind on Pedro Lyra's goals in the 57th and 64th minutes before generating a
Walter Palacios corner, a
Nestor Salazar shot on goal and a
Mehdi Dif corner leading into Stefane's penalty. Epler-McDonnell kept Texas Wesleyan within reach with saves at 51:54 and 59:32, and the defense got through a late stretch that included an Ellis Dunn shot off the post, two Mid-America Christian corners and two missed shots between 80:59 and 84:02. Mid-America Christian added its third goal at 84:46, and Texas Wesleyan answered at the end through Gonzalez after his earlier shot was saved, closing the match at 3-2.
Stefane converted a penalty kick for Texas Wesleyan, scoring on his only shot attempt.
Rudy Gonzalez added a goal and put both of his shots on frame. Salazar recorded an assist and placed his lone shot on goal. Epler-McDonnell finished with four saves in 90 minutes.
Pedro Lyra scored twice on two shots, putting both attempts on goal. Leonardo Leitao scored the game-winning goal and led Mid-America Christian with four shots, including two on goal. Guilherme Barbosa recorded an assist and added two shots. Vito Callaci added an assist and put his only shot on goal.
The Rams hit the road next week with a matchup against Southwestern Christian with eyes to host an opening round game in the conference tournament.
