The Blinn College men’s soccer team rode a second-half goal and a valiant effort from its freshman goalkeeper to a 1-0 Region XIV road win over Texas Southmost College on Friday in Brownsville, Texas.
The victory improved the Buccaneers to 7-4-2 overall and pushed their region record to 4-3.
“It can’t be overstated just how big this win was for us today,” Blinn head coach said. “We have been missing so many key players recently due to injury, so this period of games was always going to be really tough for us, but we’ve come through it.”
The Bucs got a big boost against the host Scorpions thanks to a clean sheet from freshman keeper Connor Vela. The first-year netminder recorded five saves en route to his sixth victory of the year. Vela also moved into fifth all-time in Blinn history with his 61st save.
(Pictured: Blinn goal keeper Connor Vela, left, and forward Devon Arnold)
The two teams played to a first-half stalemate, and the match remained scoreless until freshman forward Devon Arnold took an assist from fellow freshmen Joaquin Rosales and Nawfal Hadj-Hamou and turned it into a 1-0 Bucs lead in the 63rd minute.
Blinn out-shot Texas Southmost 12-6, with a 6-5 edge in shots on goal.
Up next, the Bucs host region adversary Jacksonville College at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at Rankin Field in Brenham, Texas.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 49 national championships since 1987.
