Box Score LAREDO, Texas - Wednesday evening the TAMIU men’s soccer team closed the regular season with a bang, torching St. Mary’s University 5-0 on senior night at Dustdevil Field.
TAMIU goalkeeper Jesus Cisneros recorded a shutout and the Dustdevils’ defense allowed only two shots on goal. On the other end, the Dustdevils offense racked up 21 shots compared to seven from the Rattlers.
After a slow start, TAMIU finally got things going in the 26
th minute. Eduardo Gonzalez played a through ball to Diego Manzano-Cano, who beat the Rattler’s keeper in a one-on-one situation. Shortly after, Arturo Gutierrez gave the Dustdevils a 2-0 lead firing a shot into the net with Cano assisting.
The Dustdevils continued their scoring rally in the second half with a penalty kick from senior Adan Villavicencio in the 53
rd minute. Walter Anoruo and Adrian Eilcerio also tallied goals for TAMIU, giving the Dustdevils a lopsided 5-0 triumph.
“We played really well, and we dominated most of the game,” said Head Coach Claudio Arias. “We created a lot of opportunities and we are happy that we were able to send the senior off with a win.”
In addition to overpowering the Rattlers, the Dustdevils honored their three seniors: Adan Villavicencio, Elkin Marin-Tobar, and Dimas Chacon.
“Adan has been really instrumental in moving our program forward,” said Arias. “We will definitely miss Elkin after two years playing with us, and Dimas was like glue for our team – he brought people together. Their spirits are good, they are good people, we will miss them on and off the field.”
The Dustdevils conclude the season with an overall record of 10-4-4 and a conference record of 6-1-3. The team will now await the results of the St. Edward’s versus Dallas Baptist game on Saturday, which will determine if TAMIU will receive their third straight conference title. A St. Edward’s draw with DBU would give the Hilltoppers and the Dustdevils identical 6-1-3 conference records. A St. Edward’s loss on Saturday would give TAMIU the outright conference title.
