Men’s Soccer Rally Falls Short at No. 16 SMU

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men’s soccer team scored a pair of goals in the final seven minutes but fell 3-2 to the No. 16 Southern Methodist University (SMU) Mustangs on Sunday at Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium.

The Vaqueros (2-4-1) trailed 3-0 going into the final seven minutes of the match before freshman Pablo Torre scored his second goal of the season to get UTRGV on the board. Five minutes later, sophomore Jaime Carrillo scored his second goal of the season to put the cap on the scoring.

The Mustangs (6-1-3) got on the board early in the first half as Niv Berkovitz scored in the sixth minute taking the 1-0 lead.

The Vaqueros’ defense settled down as they kept the Mustangs off the board and put some pressure on SMU’s defense for the next 30 minutes of the first half, but the Mustangs added two late goals by Bailey Sparks and Stephan Soghomonian to take a 3-0 lead into the half.

The Vaqueros kept the Mustangs off the board in the second half as junior Alexis Gonzalez finished the night with five saves.

The Vaqueros were outshot by the Mustangs 21 to 10 and 9 to 4 on goal.

The Vaqueros will be back in action on Oct. 6when they host Grand Canyon University in the Western Athletic Conference opener at 2 p.m. at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex. Attendance is free but fans will need a digital pass to gain entrance. Fans can sign up for the UTRGV Soccer Pass at GoUTRGV.com/SoccerPass.