Texas Lutheran Plays No. 18 St. Thomas to a 2-2 Draw

SEGUIN, Texas -- The Texas Lutheran men's soccer team played the 18th-ranked University of St. Thomas Celts to a draw at 2-2 in an intense match Sunday evening at Gustafson Field as the Bulldogs continued SCAC play.

The match was as balanced as they come as the Bulldogs and Celts shared possession 50-50 and each had 11 shots. Texas Lutheran held an 8-5 advantage in shots on goal.

Texas Lutheran would strike first as Preston Huff (Cypress/Cy-Fair) would head in a free kick from Jack Manke (Houston/Stratford) to give Texas Lutheran a 1-0 lead they would maintain through halftime.

The Bulldogs would keep the 18th-ranked Celts off the scoreboard until a 57th minute equalizer would bring the score to 1-1. The Celts would take their first lead of the match following a 71st minute goal.

As yellow cards mounted and tempers flared, the Bulldogs continued to fight. A header from senior Nestor Ayala (Dorado, Puerto Rico/Wagner) off of a Luis Green (Monterrey, Mexico/Smithson Valley) corner would make for the decisive equalizer. Neither team was able to obtain an advantage in the closing minutes as the match came to a close with 2-2 as the final score.

Caleb Weed (San Antonio/Warren) would start in-goal for the Bulldogs and save the lone shot on goal he faced. Noel Pena (Houston/Cy-Falls) would allow both second half goals and make two saves in-goal. Pena would take the decision bringing his record to 1-3-2 for the season.

Texas Lutheran will be off until next Sunday, Oct. 16, when they welcome the Colorado College Tigers to Gustafson Field for their final home match of the 2022 regular season. The match will also serve as Senior Day as the Bulldogs honor their senior class for their contributions to the TLU Soccer program. All streaming and live stats links will be available on tlubulldogs.com.