Men's Soccer 10/10/2012 10:29:00 AM

TAMIU Soccer gears for UTPB

By Winston Harris

Men’s Soccer

LAREDO, Texas - The Texas A&M International men’s soccer team looks to regroup after coming off an intense 1-1 tie in double overtime with the Heartland Conference’s top team in St. Edwards. The Dustdevils next opponent is conference foe UT-Permian Basin.

In their first meeting, the Dustdevils could not grab the much needed road win as playing conditions and injuries to 4 starters’ halted TAMIU’s efforts. The issue of injuries has been a recurring theme that has caused the back-to-back conference champion Dustdevils to fall into an unfamiliar place, as they sit in the third spot in the heartland conference.

“We haven’t had a consistent starting line-up due to injuries,” said Head Coach Claudio Arias. “This is going to be one of the first games where we have everybody back in the starting line-up so we feel comfortable about the game coming up.”

Unexpected injuries and struggles of a long season are just a few roadblocks on the way to another conference crown. Minor setbacks have not discouraged the Dustdevils, as the reigning conference champs are poised for victory on Thursday.

“They are still fighting and focused on attaining our conference championship status,” said Coach Arias. “We are going to fight until the end, we are not defeated yet.”
With a win on Thursday, TAMIU will be propelled into either second or tied for first in the standings.

Women’s Soccer

The women’s soccer team is coming off a thrilling 2-1 victory against Houston-Victoria in overtime. Now the Dustdevils set their sights on the last place falcons of UT-Permain Basin on Thursday.

The Dustdevils have taken the Heartland Conference by surprise, with their best season in school history. TAMIU has doubled their win total from last year with 8 victories to date. With a win against the last place falcons, TAMIU women’s soccer will have tied the school record for all time wins NCAA or NAIA.

“It’s good for the team and a good reflection of the things we are doing but records are made to be broken,” said Coach Arias. “We are just taking it one game at a time.”

The stakes have been set for the big game on Thursday, as TAMIU women’s soccer has a chance to move one step closer to earning a berth in the conference tournament for the first time in school history.

A newfound confidence has been attained by the women’s team as they have put themselves on the map in the heartland. Less focused teams could be easily distracted by the glory of victory but that is not the case at TAMIU. The values of hard work and unity keep the team on track for something bigger.

“We just continue to work as hard as we were working at the beginning of the season and keep the same unity” said Coach Arias. “We are focusing on bigger things like hopefully qualifying for the tournament.”

As game day draws near, the Dustdevils know that UT-Permain Basin will not just hand them the game. In their last meeting, TAMIU squeaked out a 2-1 victory when junior midfielder Valeria Jaramillo scored a golden goal in the final two minutes of the second overtime period.

Kickoff for the women’s game is set for 5 p.m. at the TAMIU Soccer Complex, with the men immediately following at 7:30 p.m.

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