SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS—A physical and heated battle between the University of the Incarnate Word men's soccer team and Oral Roberts resulted in two red cards and four yellow cards, and ended with a 2-0 loss for the Cardinals, Friday night at Benson Stadium.
This was the first regular season game for both teams and all the excitement and wait didn't disappoint. Both teams played very hard but the Golden Eagles (1-0) were able to finish the chances the Cardinals (0-1) couldn't. UIW created many scoring opportunities throughout the game, including their first just 30 seconds into the game.
Ben Conway (Wigan, Eng/Hawkley Hall) received a nice chest pass from newcomer Tom Bibby (Baglit, Whales/Flint HS) and took a shot that just missed high. The Cardinals continued to attack and outshot their opponent in both halves, and 18-7 overall.
Oral Roberts took a 1-0 lead in the 32th minute off a free kick. Santiago Riveros took the free kick from 30 yards away and found a wide open Matthew Rogers, who headed it beautifully into the net. The score remained 1-0 going into halftime thanks in part to Golden Eagle goalkeeper Parker Johnson who had four saves in just the first 45 minutes.
Things got extra heated in the beginning of the second half. Rafael Rivera was sent off after a slide tackle in the 49
th minute and left the visiting team with only 10 players on the pitch. From then on, the Cardinals continually attacked the Golden Eagles' goal, but never found the back of the net. They outshot their opponents 10-3 in the second half, but the only thing that mattered was Oral Roberts' answer. ORU grabbed a rebound and took off on a fast break that was stopped with a foul. The free kick was once again taken by Riveros, who almost sent an identical pass to his first assist, but this time it found Isaac Fraley, who was able to head it in for the definitive 2-0 in the 69
th minute.
With 15 minutes to go,
Fernando Laverde (Frisco/Liberty HS) received his second yellow card of the game, earning him a red card and evening up the playing field to 10v10. Despite the even teams, the Cardinals kept pushing forward and creating chances but came up empty. They took eight corner kicks on the night, compared to zero from ORU.
Conway and
Robert Pratt (Kent, Eng/Haberdasher Askes Knights Academy) led the Cardinals with five shots apiece, and goalie,
Joshua Blaire collected two saves in the evening. O'neal Moore (Houston/Alief Taylor HS),
Miguel Ojeda (Mesquite/Lone Star HS) and
Trinidad Luna (Sugar Land/Clements HS) all had close shots at goal but came up short in the loss.
For the Golden Eagles, Riveros gets the two assists and Rogers and Fraley each get a goal. Riveros also led the team with three shots, one being on goal.
The Cardinals will now head to Dallas to play one of their toughest opponents of the year in SMU on monday at 7:00 p.m.. The Mustangs made it to the NCAA Sweet 16 last year, and are ranked #8 in the nation for the 2016 season. Live stats and video will ba available.
