Men’s Soccer Draws Physical Contest to Jacksonville

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men’s soccer team fought to a 1-1 draw with the Jacksonville (JU) Dolphins in a non-conference match Saturday at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex.

UTRGV (2-1-1) got on the board early with a nice pass from senior Cesar Baltazar at the top of the box to the opposite corner where junior rose up through the crowd to head the ball past the JU keeper in the 3′.

In the 41′, JU (1-5-1) knotted the game at one when Oscar Resano netted a cross into the bottom right corner. Both teams played physically as the first half ended with 11 combined fouls and one yellow card assigned to JU’s Paul Danner. The Vaqueros outshot the Dolphins six to four and both teams had three shots on goal at the break.

A physical second half led to only one shot on goal in the entire half when Joaquin Suarez tried to sneak a shot by the keeper in the bottom left corner but was just saved.

By the end of the game, UTRGV and JU were even with nine shots attempted in the match. UTRGV had a 7-4 corner advantage of JU.

UTRGV will be on the road for their next match on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. against Houston Christian.