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WICHITA FALLS, Texas – A controversial yellow card and penalty kick decided a match that was evenly played through 88 of 90 minutes of regulation. The call came against Texas A&M International’s Camilo Botero, detouring a fair played 2-2 match into a polemic 3-2 defeat courtesy of No. 7 Midwestern State on Friday night.
The non-conference affair granted MSU a series sweep, with an equally debatable result falling in its favor, 0-1, on Sept. 29 in Laredo after a soft red card forced the Dustdevils to play a man down. With the match entering its twilight and tied at two on Friday, the match’s officials once again played a role in the result.
MSU’s Dan Johns buried the game-winning penalty in the 88th minute and the Mustangs held on through regulation, handing the Dustdevils (7-7-1, 5-1-0 Heartland Conference) their seventh loss of the season. The Dustdevils are now 0-3 versus ranked opponents this season. In conference, TAMIU is a game behind No. 14 St. Edward’s (9-2-1, 5-0 Heartland) in the loss column; the teams face off in a match that may decide the Heartland championship on Nov. 2 at the TAMIU Soccer Complex.
TAMIU twice took the lead against the hosting Mustangs on Friday, first off a Jovany Macias netter in the 8th minute and again in the 16th minute when Adrian Elicerio knocked the nylon.
Macias initially lit the scoreboard by cashing in a poor clearance inside the MSU 18-yard box. He settled the scuffed defensive attempt and launched a laser from about 15 yards away. The goal stands as Macias’ fourth of his junior campaign, matching his career high for strikes in a season and tying him for the second most goals this season with Diego Manzano-Cano.
The Dustdevils surrendered an equalizer in the 14th minute, but responded by reclaiming the lead 172 seconds later when Elicerio beat Mustangs’ goalkeeper Nathan Kenyon for his second goal of the season. Eduardo Gonzalez contributed his second assist of the season by feeding with a precision-placed cross from his right-wing position.
The Mustangs scored their second equalizer in the 23rd minute, and from there the teams settled down, holding level with each other until the officials became involved late in the match.
TAMIU keeper Jesus Cisneros played all 90 minutes protecting the Dustdevils’ net, completing five saves. The Dustdevils trailed the Mustangs in shots taken (18-13) and shots on target (9-6) but both squads were fairly level in fouls committed, with TAMIU hearing nine whistles and MSU hearing eight.
The Dustdevils return to conference play against St. Mary’s at noon on Monday before hosting St. Edward’s and McMurry on Nov. 2 and 4, respectively, to close the regular season.
