Men’s Soccer Earns First WAC Win by Defeating Air Force

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men’s soccer team earned its first Western Athletic Conference (WAC) victory of the season by beating the Air Force Falcons 5-1 on Sunday at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex.

This is the second time the Vaqueros (3-5-2, 1-1-2 WAC) have scored five goals this season, tied for the 13^th-highest single-match scoring total in program history.

Down 1-0 early, the Vaqueros scored twice in a span of about 10 minutes. In the seventh minute, junior Kgodiso Sukati scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season. The play started when junior Kimito Fritz sent a pass up the right side of the box to sophomore Jaime Carrillo who passed diagonally to the left side of the net, allowing Sukati to force the ball into the goal.

About 10 minutes later, senior Cesar Baltazar scored his first goal of the season on a long free kick to give the Vaqueros a 2-1 lead.

The Vaqueros added three goals in a span of nine minutes early in the second half.

In the 55^th minute, freshman Valley View alum Pablo Torre scored his third goal on a header with Fritz and Carrillo picking up assists.

Four and a half minutes later, Carrillo assisted on a goal by sophomore Keaviano Francis.

In the 64^th minute, senior Jason Robles scored on Torre’s first-career assist to complete the scoring.

Carrillo finished with a career-high three assists, tied for the third-highest single-match total in program history, while Fritz’s two assists were his first of the season.

The Falcons (1-10-1, 1-3-0 WAC) scored their goal in the fifth minute. Carter Rizzo took a penalty kick that was stopped, but he followed the rebound and sent it into the net.

That was it against junior RGV FC Academy alum and Brownsville native Alexis Gonzalez (1-1-1), who made one save while making his third start in a span of four matches.

Will Collins (1-7-0) made two saves while playing the first half for the Falcons. Brody Smith made three saves in the second half.

The Vaqueros outshot the Falcons 19-5, including 11-2 on goal.

UTRGV is back in action on Thursday at 10 p.m. at UNLV in a game that can be seen domestically and internationally for free via WAC International.