Nov. 5, 2010

Final Stats

With a lot on the line the Texas A&M International University men's soccer team left no doubt. TAMIU went into Friday night's game at Newman shorthanded but overcame that obstacle to claim an outright Heartland Conference Championship with a 1-0 win over the Jets.

TAMIU (10-5-2, 7-1 Heartland) played the game without four starters, who all sat out the contest due to a card suspension. Two of those sitting out were senior captain Soamy Bautista and junior starting goalkeeper Emmanuel Frias.

Senior Leonardo Ramos provided leadership, however, proving the the Dustdevils the lead when he beat Newman goalkeeper Robin Allard in a one-on-one situation in the 11th minute.

That go-ahead goal would proof to be the game-winner after another outstanding effort by TAMIU' s defense. The Dustdevils limited Newman (3-13, 2-5 Heartland) to 11 shots and three shots on goal en route to posting their sixth shutout of the year. Junior goalkeeper Jesús Cisneros made three saves in goal to do his part in the shutout.

TAMIU finishes one game ahead of St. Edward's in the final conference standings. The Hilltoppers kept the pressure on by posting an easy 5-2 win over UT-Permain Basin earlier on Friday.

Head coach Claudio Arias is thrilled that his team came through to win the title in a pressure situation on the road.

"It was a total team effort tonight." Arias said. "We asked our guys to step up and they did just that, it feels great to be champions and I couldn't be prouder of this group."

TAMIU will stay in Kansas for its regular season finale against ninth ranked Truman State on Sunday in a neutral site game on the Newman campus. A tie or win would allow the Dustdevils to end the year with a nine-game unbeaten streak.