Early Deficit Pulls Bulldogs by UD Men's Soccer in Opener
IRVING, Texas – A pair of early goals were too much to overcome for the University of Dallas men's soccer team on Thursday evening in a 2-1 loss to Texas Lutheran University. This match was a makeup from last Saturday and counted as the season opener for both squads.
Luis Green scored both goals for the reigning SCAC Tournament Champions in under 20 minutes. His first came on a corner kick from Adrian Maldonado at the 2:36 minute mark after a corner kick from the left side landed in the front center of the penalty box.
In the 20th minute, Green came up again with a goal deep in the center of the box. This time Abram Mendez found him on a long kick from TLU's defensive side just before midfield.
The Crusaders mustered a goal by Chase Reynolds (Southlake, Texas) early in the second half. Cody Briggs (Houston, Texas) was credited an assist on Reynold's 11th career goal.
"Chase was the man of the match," Head Coach David Hoffmann reflected. "The goal obviously but he also created a number of other good chances. Brady also stood out for me with a lot of ball recoveries and balls won in the air."
After being outdone 9-2 in shots in the first 45 minutes, UD would hold a 7-5 edge in the remainder of the game. The Bulldogs did hold a 5-3 advantage on corners.
Goncalo Pernas (Lisbon, Portugal) made four saves as goalkeeper in his Dallas debut. He snagged three of them in the first stanza to stall TLU's offense. The Crusaders best chance offensively came just prior to the 80th minute. Jose Salinas-Arreola (Katy, Texas) had his shot to the right saved and then Karson Pannell (Southlake, Texas) missed high on another equalizer attempt.
TLU's Caleb Weed managed two saves, both in the last half. The Bulldogs improved to 1-0-0 on the year, while Dallas moved to 0-1-0.
"Great to just get back on the field with the boys after over a year...just wish the fans and parents could have been there with us," Hoffmann stated. "We started five first time players which presents a lot of unknowns and saw the growth from the first half to the second."
"In there until the end and a touch loss to the defending SCAC Champion with an elite player. Luis Green picked up two goals a lot of players don't convert," Hoffmann complemented.
Dallas is home for a quick turnaround on Saturday versus Schreiner University at 12 p.m.
A reminder that spectators are not permitted at any UD home games at this time.