HOUSTON, TEXAS – Alejandro de a Garza (Mission/Sharyland HS) led the University of the Incarnate Word men's soccer team to a 2-0 victory on Saturday at Houston Baptist with a multi-goal performance.  

In a constant battle, both the Cardinals (3-6, 2-0) and the Huskies (1-5-2, 0-2) created multiple chances to put the ball away and although HBU outshot UIW, 17-16, the Cardinals fired six more shots on goal with an 8-2 advantage that culminated in a two goal victory.  The win pushed the Cardinals to a perfect 2-0 record in the Western Athletic Conference and gave the team a sweep of the Huskies.

"This was a great team win tonight," said UIW head coach Vince Martinez.  "It was a physical game and I thought our defense played solid.  I am also really proud for our team captain Alex de la Garza tonight, he scored two quality goals."

For de la Garza, his first goal of the game came in the 15^th minute of play after he picked up the ball on the right hand side of the field and cut inside his defender to unleash a shot from 25 yards out into the near corner of the goal.  Marking the first amount of real action in the contest, the goal sparked the Huskies into a counter attack from Gustavo Alvarado that called on Cardinal goalkeeper Kieran O'Boyle (Blackpool, England/St. Mary's Catholic) to make his first save of the game.

The Huskies pushed hard to erase their one goal deficit with a strong start to the second half by out-shooting the Cardinals 4-1 in the first fifteen minutes.  The contest was a hard fought battle for both sides, but each of UIW's defensive line held strong and played well against a tough offensive attack.  Joe Brown (Nottingham, England/The Beckett School) and William Redmann (San Antonio/Smithson Valley HS) consistently beat their opponents to win the ball and their tackles greatly contributed to the Cardinals clean sheet.

De la Garza sealed the game with just under eight minutes left to play.  Midfielder Noah Keats (Exeter, England/The King's School) gave De La Garza a nice pass to the corner of the 18-yard box.  De la Garza faked an attempt to cut inside his defender and then curled the ball with his right foot into the far corner of the net.

A frustrating loss for HBU also finished with a red card for defender Sebastian Henke, who was sent off in the 89^th minute.

The contest marked a second shutout for O'Boyle who made a total of two saves, while Huskies goalkeeper Kevin Suarez takes the loss with a total of six saves.

The Cardinals are back on the road next weekend as they head to California for more conference action against CSU Bakersfield and San Jose State. They play on Friday at 9 p.m. and on Sunday at 5 p.m.
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