BRENHAM, Texas — Marco Rodriguez Jr. scored two goals to help lift the Blinn College men’s soccer team to a 3-1 win over Paris Junior College in the season opener at Rankin Field Friday.
“We got off to a really slow start because of a lot of nerves, but we changed things up in the second half,” head coach Michael McBride said. “The players who came in during the second half made a difference in the game and gave us much more tempo, which we needed. I am really pleased with the second half, and disappointed in the first half, so we have a lot of work to do.”
With the win, the Buccaneers are 1-0 overall and in conference play.
“It was a matter of mentality going into the second half and we had a lot of guys coming off the bench that were ready to go,” assistant coach Jacob Beerman said. “We had the energy going in the second half that helped us come out on top today. We were really strong in the midfield and in the back we were really solid as well.”
Rodriguez Jr. led the offense with two goals, while Ethan Unger scored one goal and Derek Norsworthy recorded one assist. On defense, goalkeeper Diego Berlingeri played the entire 90 minutes.
“It is a great feeling to be back and get a win,” Rodriguez Jr. said. “We learned from our mistakes in the first half and came together in the second half. It was unexplainable how it felt to shoot the goal to take the lead and I ran to my boys because I just couldn’t hold in the excitement.”
Paris scored its only goal in the 21st minute and held on to the 1-0 lead at the halfway mark. However, the Buccaneers came back with three goals in the second half for the win.
In the 67th minute, Norsworthy passed the ball off for Rodriguez Jr. to score Blinn’s first goal and even the score. Rodriguez Jr. kept things rolling for the Buccaneers when he scored his second goal of the game to give Blinn a 2-1 lead in the 80th minute. In the 82nd minute, Unger scored on a penalty kick for the Buccaneers’ final goal.
Next, the Buccaneers will compete against No. 13 Northeast Texas Community College on Tuesday, April 6, at 7 p.m. at Rankin Field. The Blinn women’s team will open the doubleheader against Northeast Texas at 5 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 41 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
