A successful corner kick proved to be the separator in a tense Region XIV men’s soccer matchup between Blinn College and No. 9 Tyler Junior College on Friday.
The Apaches converted a corner opportunity in the 69th minute of play and fended off the Buccaneers the rest of the way to earn a 3-2 win at Rankin Field in Brenham, Texas.
“Tonight was a barn-burner of a game,” Blinn head coach said. “We played Tyler face up and came really close to upsetting them. Any time you out-shoot a team but finish on the wrong side of the result you’ll be disappointed; so yes, this one hurts. However, we can take comfort in the fact our team is getting better with each game.”
The Bucs dropped to 3-2-2 overall and 1-1 in region tilts, but it didn’t happen without a fight.
After Tyler grabbed a lead in the 13th minute of the match and pushed its cushion to 2-0 in the 20th, Blinn staged a furious second-half rally.
Freshman forward Joseph Afful got the Bucs on the board in the 55th minute when he collected a long, arching pass from freshman midfielder Geoff Ojango, separated himself from a host of Apaches defenders, and crossed a shot to the left of the Tyler netminder.
In the 64th minute, freshman defender Adrian Nieto-Saul fired a pass into the box from far right of the Apache goal, where a waiting sophomore forward Na’el Shalabi hurried a shot past a defender and the Tyler keeper to knot the game 2-2.
The match remained deadlocked until the Apache’s Jack Oliver headed in a corner kick from Oscar Bech to put the visitors up for good.
The Bucs finished with 18 shots, including 11 on goal.
Freshman keeper Connor Vela made five saves for Blinn.
The Bucs continue their season with a home clash with Dynamos SC at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at Rankin Field.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 49 national championships since 1987.
