The Howard Payne men’s soccer team defeated East Texas Baptist 3-1 but dropped a match to LeTourneau University 1-2 to start American Southwest Conference action this weekend.
On Friday, Howard Payne rallied for three unanswered goals in the second half to slip past East Texas Baptist, 3-1.
The ETBU Tigers edged ahead of the Yellow Jackets, 1-0, on a goal with six minutes left in the first half. Howard Payne’s Jaime Benitez tied the game four minutes into the second half, with a 26-yard free kick from the right side.
HPU took the lead with 35 minutes left, on a goal by Shaun Stratton off a pass from Shane Cazad. The Jackets effectively put the game away with 19 minutes to go on Brandon Maldonado’s goal that made it 3-1.
HPU edged the ETBU in total shots, 18-17. ETBU’s David Batalla played the entire game in goal and finished with eight saves, while HPU’s Malcolm Framjee finished with five for the Jackets.
Saturday Howard Payne absorbed its first loss of the season and was only able to salvage a split of their road trip after defeating East Texas Baptist on Friday.
A LeTourneau forward broke away from two HPU defenders after receiving a pass and scored an 18-yard strike past Howard Payne goalkeeper Kyle Huesing in the 70th minute for the game winner.
LeTourneau opened the scoring in the eighth minute after heading a free kick. LeTourneau outshot Howard Payne 11-8 and held a 5-3 advantage on corner kicks.
But after giving up that first goal, Howard Payne players responded and fended off the LeTourneau for the remainder of the first half. The Yellow Jackets knotted the game in the 38th minute when Sean Stratton drilled home an equalizer after rebounding a teammate’s shot off the crossbar.
Howard Payne stands at 3-1-1 overall and 1-1 in ASC play. They will be back in action this Friday at home versus Concordia University Texas at 4:00 pm.
The Howard Payne University women’s soccer team went 1-1 over the weekend with a 0-2 loss to East Texas Baptist and a 3-0 win over LeTourneau University.
On Friday, the Lady Jackets were shutout by East Texas Baptist to open American Southwest Conference play. ETBU scored two quick goals in the first seven minutes and their defense was able to keep HPU scoreless from there.
Saturday HPU was at LeTourneau for another ASC matchup. Howard Payne saw two of its three goals come from its reserves as the Lady Jackets equaled their ASC record to 1-1.
Lori Horn, Haley Clanahan and Leslie Jones scored goals for Howard Payne, which outshot LeTourneau 25-5.
Howard Payne now stands at 2-2-1 overall and 1-1 in ASC action. Howard Payne will play next at home on Friday against ASC opponent Concordia University Texas at 2:00 pm.