Box Score
FORT WORTH, Texas – The Texas A&M International men's soccer team wanted to start its season with a statement game.
That statement grew bolder as the Dustdevils' opponent entered the match as the No. 24-ranked team in NCAA Division II men's soccer. TAMIU hosted Drury in a neutral-site contest on the campus of Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth.
Drury proved that its ranking was well deserved, downing the Dustdevils 4-1, in 100-degree temperatures. Drury defeated Christian Brothers University, 3-0, in its season opener on Sept. 5 before hanging a pair of two-goal halves on TAMIU.
TAMIU newcomer Ryan Hodgson sent forth the Dustdevils only goal in the 36th minute after a connection of three athletes from three different European countries. Hodgson, a freshman from Sunderland, England, finished the attack into the net after a touchline-to-touchline service from Spaniard Diego Manzano-Cano and Frenchman Tayeb Ahmadi. Ahmadi, also a newcomer, was credited with the assist on the Dustdevils only successful strike.
TAMIU's season-opening loss was not for a lack of trying. The Dustdevils barraged the Panthers with 19 first-half shots and a total 24, but only nine were on target. In comparison, Drury shot only nine times in the match, but all but one were on frame.
The Dustdevils featured 12 different shot takers and nine of those shot more than once. Only seven shooters were accurate enough to threaten the goal, including Joan Vallejo (1 shot on goal, 2 shots), Jovany Macias (1, 4), Arturo Gutierrez (1, 1), Ahmadi (2, 1), Eduardo Serrano (2, 2), Eduardo Gonzalez (1,1), Robert Dominguez (3, 1), and Hodgson (2, 1).
For Drury, the attack was much more focused through its scoring leader, Brett Steere. Steere buried a brace with a pair of goals falling just four minutes apart from each other. He scored in the 52nd minute when he nodded a strike off a cross from Derek Hoerman.
He doubled his total in the 56th minute after latching onto a loose ball off a corner kick inside TAMIU's 18-yard box and finishing it.
Drury's scoring was opened by Alec Nagel in the 14th minute after TAMIU keeper Jesus Cisneros saved a shot off the boot of Drury's Shane Woods. Nagle scooped the ball into the net after Cisneros' initial save.
Jack Mathis stretched the Panthers' lead six minutes later after a display of flashing footwork put him in position to bulge the Dustdevils' net. Scott Stifler was credited with the assist on that strike.
Center official, Jorge Luna, raised a pair of cards in the match, both flying in the second half. Vallejo received a caution in the 57th minute and Drury assistant coach Ian Henry was ejected with a red card in the same minute.
The Dustdevils return to action with a non-Heartland Conference match at the TAMIU Soccer Complex on Sept. 9 against the University of Texas at Brownsville. The match will kick off at 7:30 p.m.
