JACKSONVILLE, Texas — The Blinn College men’s soccer team topped Jacksonville College, 2-1, Tuesday night on the road.
With the win, the Buccaneers improve to 6-4 overall and 5-3 in conference play.
“It was a close game between the two teams, but both of our goalkeepers were tremendous and really made a difference,” head coach Michael McBride said. “The two goals that we scored were well-executed and we played well from front to back today. It is definitely a difficult place to get a result so we are happy with that.”
Goalkeepers Diego Berlingeri and Adalid Abrego Jr. were phenomenal as they combined for 14 saves. Berlingeri tallied 11 saves in 80 minutes, while Abrego Jr. recorded three in 10 minutes of play.
Ethan Unger led the offense with one goal and one assist, while Marco Rodriguez Jr. scored one goal and Stefan Fevrier Sildor recorded one assist.
Blinn took a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute when Unger assisted Rodriguez Jr. in scoring. The Buccaneers held the lead until Jacksonville scored in the second half.
Jacksonville tied the game 1-1 with a goal in the 52nd minute. However, the Buccaneers pulled back on top when Fevrier Sildor sent the ball to Unger for him to score in the 75th minute. The Buccaneers held on to the 2-1 lead for the win.
“I think the guys played well again being away from home and dealing with different challenges,” assistant coach Jacob Beerman said. “We scrapped in the second half to come out on top and the guys played for each other the entire time. Diego was brilliant towards the end of the game with the saves he had and it was a top performance from him.”
Next, the Buccaneers will compete against No. 11 Tyler Junior College on Friday, May 7, at 4 p.m. in the final home game of the regular season at Rankin Field.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
