CANYON, TEXAS – West Texas A&M Men's Soccer (3-5-1, 1-0-1 LSC) picked up their first conference win of the season with a 3-1 victory over UT Tyler Saturday afternoon.
D'Jonte Davis came away with three points in the win.
The Buffs produced a nice start to the game as they compiled two shots (one on goal) and a corner kick through the first eight minutes. In the 14th minute,
Joe Ballenger came away with a crucial defensive play as he blocked a breakaway shot for the Patriots right in front of WT's net after hustling back on defense to keep the score 0-0. That score did not sit for long as the Buffaloes would strike first in the 23rd minute. Following a yellow card on UT Tyler, WT would have a free kick just outside the top of the box.
D'Jonte Davis would take the kick and chip it nicely into a herd of Buffs.
Oumar Berete moved to the front of that group and forcefully headed the ball into the back of the net 15 yards out to give WT a 1-0 lead. UTT would tie the game in the 33rd minute as Noe Coutino converted a penalty kick. That penalty would be reviewed minutes later after initially taking place and ultimately awarded to the Patriots as the game was equalized at 1-1. West Texas A&M wasted little time retaking that lead as they would strike for the second time in the half in the 39th minute. On the backline,
Gianluca Pedroso delivered an absolute gem of a ball as it traveled all the way to a streaking
Myles Taylor halfway into WT's attacking zone. Taylor would make initial contact with the ball off his left knee to push it forward and would beat the defender to the ball right outside the box. In stride, Taylor blasted a shot off his left foot to the bottom left corner as he extended WT's lead. The Buffs held that 2-1 advantage going into halftime.
Out of the break, West Texas A&M continued to apply pressure with a corner kick and two shots. In the 54th minute, Davis would double WT's lead after being set up by
Ben Scotford into the box. The Prosper, Texas native maneuvered his way deep into the box and fired a shot with his left foot past the keeper for the goal. Davis would hit a backflip to celebrate as the Buffaloes now held a commanding 3-1 advantage. WT continued to create chances offensively, but the defense did their part to hold the lead. The Patriots would be limited to two shots (one on goal) and three corner kicks following Davis' goal in the 54th minute. The score would finalize at 3-1 in favor of West Texas A&M as they picked up their first LSC win of the season.
Top Buffs
- D'Jonte Davis tallied three points from his first goal of the season and his second assist. He also registered two shots with one on goal in 78 minutes. Davis is up to four points on the year.
- Oumar Berete scored his second goal of the season to go with three shots (two on goal) in 49 minutes. This was a season-best mark in shots and shots on goal for Berete. He now holds four points this season.
- Myles Taylor also scored his second goal of the season in his 27 minutes of action. He would score his lone shot for his fifth point of the season.
Buffalo Bits
- West Texas A&M is now 6-0-3 all-time against UT Tyler and have won back-to-back games.
- WT led the game in shots (16-9) and shots on goal (7-4).
- Ben Scotford and Gianluca Pedroso each came away with an assist. This was the first assist of the season for both. Scotford is now up to three points while this was Pedroso's first career point. Pedroso also played all 90 minutes for the second time this season while Scotford logged 74 with two shots on goal.
- Felix Casas and Delahmu Reeves each fired three shots with Casas landing one on goal. This was Casas' third game with 3+ shots this season while it was a season-high in shots for Reeves.
- Zach Kos started in goal and saved three shots in all 90 minutes. Kos has saved three shots in both of his starts this season.
- Octavio Estrada-Vazquez played all 90 minutes and added one shot. This was his fifth game logging 90 minutes this season.
- Damron Atkins extended his streak of 90 minute games to seven consecutive games after going the distance.
- Bobby Murphy and Joe Ballenger each logged 90 minutes on defense. This was Murphy's fourth game playing all 90 while it was Ballenger's fifth (five straight).
- Desire Essis came away with one shot in 16 minutes.
Up Next
The Buffs will be back in action on Wednesday, September 30 as they travel to Oklahoma Christian. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
For all the latest on West Texas A&M Men's Soccer, stay tuned to
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