AUSTIN, Texas (November 5, 2015) -- No. 3 seed Texas A&M International secured their place in the Heartland Conference Championship match after a hard fought contest against No. 2 seed Newman on Thursday afternoon. With a 1-1 score remaining after 110 minutes of play, penalty kicks were required to decide the fate of the semi-final game. The Dustdevils scored on four of their PK attempts while limiting Newman to two, allowing them to advance to the Championship on Saturday.
 
The Dustdevils looked to strike early, which they accomplished in the ninth minute of play. Freshman Josiah Benjamin would break open the scoring after knocking in a loose ball from a Michael Iskander header that was hit off of the goal post, giving TAMIU the 1-0 lead. The 1-0 score would hold through the first 45 minutes of play.

TAMIU's momentum would see a swing as Norman Ramos was presented with a red card in the 60th minute. The Jets used this to their advantage to even the score in the 70th minute. The 1-1 tie would hold through regulation, as well as two, ten minute overtime periods.

Dustdevils goalkeeper Miguel Lucio held his team in the game for 109 minutes, only switching for the final minute of play with Antonio Romero. Lucio made four saves on five Jets' shots on net. Newman took 19 total shots at the Dustdevils net.
 
In the penalty kicks, TAMIU made their first four shots to secure the victory. TAMIU's Antonio Romero held strong in net against Newman, only allowing 2 shots in. The penalty kicks for the Dustdevils came from Michael Iskander, Juan Sebas Ramirez, Cesar Guerrero and Gustavo Flores.
 


The Dustdevils will look ahead to the Heartland Conference Championship match against the No.1 seed St. Edward's on Saturday, November 7th. Action is set to begin at 1:30pm at the Hilltopper's Lewis-Chen Family Field. Follow along with the action at www.GoDustdevils.com, and with Dustdevils social media (Twitter: @TAMIUAthletics and Facebook: /GoDustdevils).