Men's Soccer | 11/7/2014 11:15:00 PM
AUSTIN, Texas – A clash between the Heartland Conference's defending co-champions crescendoed at Lewis-Chen Field on the campus of St. Edward's in the second semifinal of the Heartland's historic inaugural postseason tournament on Friday. The No. 1-seeded Hilltoppers were bullied by the upset-minded No. 4 Texas A&M International University, although the hosts slid into a 1-0 result.
"This match felt like a final, not a semifinal," TAMIU coach Claudio Arias said. "That's how high the energy was. It's just the way it is every time TAMIU and St. Edward's meet. We are both championship programs that leave all we have in our competitions.
"It was a rivalry match, of course, and each of our seasons were on the line. Our boys played bravely and we had our chances."
A 44th minute penalty kick was awarded to St. Edward's, serving as the only margin of separation in the match. Starting goalkeeper Miguel Lucio guessed right on the spot kick, but the strike was solid and sent into the roof of the net.
Lucio effectively reigned in goal, completing six acrobatic saves to stave off the Hilltoppers' run-of-play attempts.
The Dustdevils hammered three shots – one on goal – in the match, while silencing the hosts aside from the penalty.
The Dustdevils have won three of the last five Heartland titles while St. Edward's has been crowned four times since 2009 – including this season. The two were co-champions in 2013.
The Dustdevils end the season 8-9-1 and 4-4-0 in league play. TAMIU sees five graduate, including All-Heartland selection and captain Jovany Macias, defenders Oscar Pompa and Jonathan Saldana, and forwards Eduardo Serrano and Damir Turko.
