Men's Soccer 9/18/2012 12:24:00 AM

Shorthanded Men's Soccer Draws with St. Mary's

Box Score SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Coming off a 0-0 draw against no. 5 Midwestern State, TAMIU men’s soccer was hoping for more versus rival St. Mary’s.

With two starters sidelined with minor injuries and lady luck not on their side, the Dustdevils battled the Rattlers to their second consecutive 0-0 draw in San Antonio Monday afternoon.

With time running out in the second overtime, Alexander High School alum Eduardo Gonzalez looked to have put the Dustdevils over the top firing a shot past the outstretched hands of Rattlers keeper Patrick Kasperitis. In a recurring theme for the match, the ball ricocheted off the post denying Gonzalez his golden goal.

Not two minutes later a clean shot by Juan Ramirez looked to be the game winner, only to clang off the post ending TAMIU’s chances at late game heroics. The Dustdevils also had a goal waived off in the second half after an offside call.

Despite the team’s misfortunes, Head Coach Claudio Arias said his team looked flat from the onset.

“We didn’t look like our heads were in the game until the last ten minutes of regulation. Missing Elkin and Arturo made a huge difference, but just like our game versus Midwestern, we failed to capitalize on our opportunities.”

As is the case every year, the Dustdevils ultimate goal is reaching the national tournament, a goal which took another hit with the unfortunate result.

“We feel like this is a loss for us more than it is a tie… it definitely doesn’t help” said Coach Arias. “We just have to keep our heads up and keep pushing forward. There is a lot more soccer still left to be played and we’ll have to see how the rest of the season plays out.”

TAMIU keeper Jesus Cisneros continued to be a strong point for the Dustdevils, picking up his second consecutive shutout. The junior from Dallas, Texas finished with eight saves in the match, including a couple that looked to be sure-fire goals for the Rattlers.

“Chuy has had two phenomenal games for us,” said coach Arias. “They had some very good opportunities that he was able to contain. If we had his level of effectiveness in all areas on the pitch, we would’ve had a different result.”

Eduardo Gonzalez led the Dustdevils with six shots including one on goal, followed by Diego Manzano Cano who tallied four and Juan Ramirez who finished with three.

The men’s team will look to shake this one off as they prepare for a home showdown with Newman University on Thursday, September 20 at 7:30 p.m. at Dustdevil Field.

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