Blinn College men’s soccer ended its regular season with a dominant 4-0 Region XIV home victory over Jacksonville College on Friday at Rankin Field inside Hohlt Park in Brenham, Texas.
The Buccaneers will enter the postseason for the sixth time in program history with a 13-6 overall record and a 7-5 region mark. Blinn has qualified for the Gulf South District Tournament in each of its seasons since the program launched in 2018.
“This was a great way for all of our sophomores to end their last game on Rankin Field,” Bucs head coach Michael McBride said. “Their hard work over the last two seasons has helped propel us into the playoffs on the back of consecutive 13-win seasons. They’ve set the bar for our future teams. I’m proud of all of the players this evening, freshmen and sophomores alike.”
Blinn scored the only goal it would need Friday when freshman defender Na’el Shalabi sent a perfectly timed header into the Jaguars’ net. The tally was assisted by sophomore midfielder Toby Lansdowne on a corner kick in the eighth minute of play.
(Pictured: Blinn College sophomore midfielder Toby Lansdowne)
Lansdowne has 13 assists this season, which is second best in NJCAA Division I men’s soccer. He is only one assist away from tying Blinn’s single-season mark of 14.
In the 20th minute, sophomore midfielder Joshua Hernandez-Gutierrez made it 2-0. After freshman defender Philipp Mokwa headed a strong pass to freshman forward Cesar Duran near the corner of the box, Duran sent a short pass through three Jacksonville defenders and into the possession of a waiting Hernandez-Gutierrez, who quickly booted it into the back of the net.
After halftime, Jacksonville handed Blinn a 3-0 lead in the 48th minute when it sent the ball into its own net.
The Bucs capped the scoring in the 76th minute when sophomore forward Dafe Akpoguma gathered a feed from freshman forward Noah Lozano and freshman midfielder Callum Ellington and fired a shot around the Jaguar goalkeeper.
Blinn outshot Jacksonville 19-8 and finished with an 8-6 advantage in corner kicks.
(Pictured: Blinn College freshman goalkeeper Noah LeMaster)
Freshman goalkeeper Noah LeMaster made two saves for the Bucs in 90 minutes of play. LeMaster now has 13 wins this season, a single-season program record. He has also started each of Blinn’s eight shutouts, a single-season and team record. LeMaster’s 13 victories lead NJCAA DI.
Up next, Blinn will battle either Paris Junior College or Northeast Texas Community College in the first round of the district tournament. The Bucs’ opponent will be determined following the conclusion of the Region XIV Tournament on Tuesday, Oct. 24. Blinn faced both Paris and Northeast Texas once this season and won both matches.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 44 NJCAA national championships since 1987.?
