SAN ANTONIO — Two late goals by Midwestern State University Men's Soccer broke the hearts of St. Mary's University fans and student-athletes in the Championship Game of the Lone Star Conference Tournament as the Mustangs prevailed 2-1 on Sunday afternoon.
The Rattlers (12-4-4) struck first, scoring on a free kick in the 23rd minute, as junior
Enzo Jaques (Porto Alegre, Brazil) used the same technique (paneka) from Friday night's shootout to secure the first goal of the day.
The score remained 1-0 until the 76th minute when Johan Juarez scored his first goal of the season. The Mustangs (14-2-3) scored again in the 81st minute as Josh Milla took a pass from LSC Tournament MVP Mere Escobar for the 2-1 final tally.
StMU senior
Cooper Stephens (Richardson, Texas) fired two shots in the first 18 minutes. One went off the sidebar and the other the crossbar. The Rattlers managed 10 shots on the day with two on goal, while the Mustangs took 19 shots with eight on goal. Midwestern State also collected seven corner kicks, with only one for StMU.
Jaques, junior goalkeeper
Johnny Thurbin (Lingfield, Surrey, England) and senior defender
Gianluca Fiorini (Scandiano, Italy) were all named to the All-Tournament team for the Rattlers.
The Rattlers will now have to wait to see if their body of work is strong enough to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Championship. The selection show is slated to air Monday at 5:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.
All-Tournament Team
MVP: Mere Escobar, MSU
Avery Brazzell, DBU
Eduardo Cerna, MSU
Hunter Dierlam, DBU
Gianluca Fiorini, StMU
Todd Fuller, SEU
Juan Galindo, MSU
Enzo Jaques, StMU
Jarrod McKechnie, MSU
Dom Murphy, WT
Jommar Reyes, SEU
Daniel Robles, MSU
Salomao Saboia, UTT
Johnny Thurbin, StMU
