Blinn College proved a worthy test for No. 3 Tyler Junior College on Saturday, but was ultimately unable to knock off the mighty Apaches in a Region XIV women’s soccer match at Rankin Field in Brenham, Texas.
The Buccaneers dropped a 3-1 decision to Tyler despite 51 minutes of impressively close play.
It took a pair of second-half goals for the Apaches to secure permanent breathing room over Blinn.
“Our players gave it their all today and that’s all a coach can ask for,” Bucs head coach 
said. “The unfortunate part is we had some mental errors that an elite team like Tyler capitalized on. For us to be an elite team we have to capitalize on teams’ errors, which we didn’t.”
Blinn (2-3, 1-2 Region XIV) gave up the first goal of the match on a tough-luck play on a free kick in the 37th minute of play. A long kick soared toward the top-right corner of the net and found its target after ricocheting off the hands of Bucs freshman goalkeeper Brooke Assur. During the save attempt, Assur collided with the side post of the goal and was replaced by sophomore keeper Jordan Clark for the remainder of the match.
The score remained 1-0 until the 50th minute of play.
Blinn sophomore forward Marissa Aparicio met a deflected ball with a volley shot to the left side of the Apache net and snuck it past a diving keeper for her first goal of the season.
(Pictured: Blinn’s Marissa Aparicio, left, battles Tyler’s Miki Hayashi during a game Sept. 7, 2024)
“That was a fantastic goal from Marissa,” Jackson said. “Definitely one of the best goals I have seen during my time here (since 2019).”
Tyler wasted little time regaining the advantage when it put pressure on the Blinn box and pushed a shot to the left side past a lunging Clark in the 51st minute.
The Apaches scored the final goal of the game on a penalty kick in the 67th minute.
Blinn finished with nine shots, including five on goal.
Assur tallied one save, while Clark secured three.
The Bucs get back to work on their region slate with a home tilt against Trinity Valley Community College at 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 13, at Rankin Field.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 49 national championships since 1987.
