Finding offense has been hard for the University of the Incarnate Word men's soccer team this season, but never was the point driven home more than it was Friday night when the Cardinals traveled to Wichita Falls for a regional matchup against No. 20-ranked Midwestern State University.
The Cardinals already had a victory over the Mustangs from the season-opener at Gayle & Tom Benson Stadium, 1-0, so Friday's game had even more riding on it from a payback standpoint for MSU.
Midwestern State got on the board almost immediately, scoring in the second minute of play for a 1-0 lead. From then on, UIW had to play catchup but of the team's eight shots, only two were on-goal.
But, in the end, none of that mattered because as time ticked away in the 89th minute, the Cardinals sent everyone they had at the MSU goal and were rewarded with a penalty kick when Jamie Scope was hauled down in the box.
Scope set up and had a chance to tie the game with precious little time left – and put his shot off the post.
Midwestern State won, 1-0, and the Cardinals dropped to 3-3-3 overall on the season. The Cardinals have not won a game, officially, since Truman State defeated UIW, 3-2, at Benson Stadium. The win over Trinity University is recognized by the NCAA as a tie, even though UIW took home the Gordon Hartman Cup on penalty kicks for the sake of having a winner.
Incarnate Word's next two games are on the road – starting with a trip up to Newman University in Kansas on October 9th and then a trip to Texas-Permian Basin on October 11th – and both are Heartland Conference games.
UIW returns home on Wednesday, October 14th, for a 7 p.m. showdown with St. Mary's University.
