The Blinn College men’s soccer team picked the perfect night to make history.
The Buccaneers welcomed 12th-ranked NJCAA Division I men’s powerhouse Louisiana State University-Eunice to Rankin Field on Friday in Brenham, Texas, and sent the Bengals home with a loss for the first time in the teams’ head-to-head history.
The 3-1 victory was Blinn’s first against LSU-Eunice in seven tries dating back to 2018.
“We played another barn-burner this evening, but this time, our players found a way to get a result,” Bucs head coach said. “I’m pleased with the work rate and the endeavor the team showed.”
Blinn (5-2-2) got things started almost immediately when freshman midfielder Nawfal Hadj-Hamou lofted a pass to fellow freshman Joseph Afful near the corner. The forward shook his defender and fired a pass to freshman forward Ethan Lindo, which he played off a deflection before booting it past the Bengal keeper for a 1-0 lead.
The goal, which came just 20 seconds into the match, was the fastest in program history.
Lindo struck again in brilliant fashion in the 17th minute when he out-maneuvered an LSU-Eunice defender to shoot the ball into the open field. Bengal keeper Landon Sorrell left his station to gather the ball, but Lindo – flanked by a pair of defenders – regained possession quickly, dribbled and juked around the attempted corral, and fired an uncontested shot near the top of the box for a 2-0 cushion.
LSU-Eunice got on the board in the 48th minute, and teams remained separated by one score until the 75th.
Hadj-Hamou fielded a short pass from freshman midfielder Geoff Ojango, then navigated through a pack of five Bengals before looping a shot over the outstretched hand of the LSU-Eunice keeper for the final goal. Freshman defender Alfredo Morales also assisted on the play.
The Bucs out-shot the Bengals 13-9.
Blinn freshman keeper Connor Vela made four saves while picking up his fourth win of the campaign.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 49 national championships since 1987.
