The UTRGV Men’s Soccer Team tied 0-0 against San Diego State University in a highly defensive match tonight at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex on the Edinburg campus.
The Vaqueros (3-6-4 overall, 1-2-3 WAC) played defensively against the Aztecs (8-4-3 overall, 5-0-1 WAC) throughout the 90 minutes of the match, where both teams sought to break the tie, but to no avail.
UTRGV Men’s Soccer head coach Bryheem Hancock said it was a “very even match” and hopes to recover from this draw in Sunday’s match against California Baptist University.
“I think a nil-nil draw is representative of how the game is going,” Hancock said. “It’s a physical game, an intense conference game. We are just trying to get points. We got one today, so we need to just recover and, hopefully, get three on Sunday.”
The first half started with the Vaqueros having most of the possession through a continuous battle with the Aztecs over the ball.
San Diego State University junior forward Rommee Jaridly and Vaqueros senior midfielder Cesar Baltazar run after the ball during tonight’s game at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex on the Edinburg campus. Also shown is Aztecs junior forward Austin Brummett. Angel Ballesteros/THE RIDER
Both teams played it fairly safe, with the Vaqueros making a shot on goal with 17 minutes left in the first half.It was not until six minutes left to spare that the Aztecs made their first shot on goal to equal the Vaqueros, but with no luck.
As the first half came to an end, the Vaqueros had already tallied up a yellow card against sophomore defender Arev Vera.
The second half proceeded the same as the first, with both teams refusing to play offensively and opting to lay back and rely on defense.
As the clock ticked, sophomore goalkeeper Fernando Carreon blocked and took down with him onto the turf a shot on goal made by the Aztecs.
With 36 minutes of the match left, junior defender Joaquin Suarez collided with Aztecs sophomore defender Reid Fisher. Trainers rushed onto the pitch. Both players were fine and returned to the game shortly after.
With only 10 minutes left to spare, both the Vaqueros and the Aztecs had a high sense of urgency to try to be the first to score. The Aztecs kept attacking on third for the final minutes as they tried to break free from the possibility of their win streak being broken, but they fell short.
The Vaqueros’ defense was on point in the last couple of minutes as they cleared out their box, ensuring the draw between the two.
UTRGV plays its next match at noon Sunday for the final home game of the season against California Baptist University. Admission is free.
