No. 19 Bulldogs Fall to St. Thomas, 3-2

HOUSTON, Texas -- No. 19 Texas Lutheran fell to St. Thomas on Sunday, 3-2, at Sabercats Stadium, the site of the 2023 SCAC Championship Tournament. It marked Texas Lutheran's first loss of the season and the first time allowing more than one goal this season.

Texas Lutheran moves to 12-1 and 3-1 in SCAC play while St. Thomas improves to 8-2-1 and 1-2 in conference. The loss brings an end to the longest win streak in program history, ending the win streak at 14 games dating back to last season, and the best start in program history (12-0).

Texas Lutheran scored first in what would become a match that surpassed what anyone would deem physical. Nathan Roy (Houston/Cy-Creek) scored his first goal of the season in the 10th minute via an assist from Louis Hart (Missouri City/Ridge Point). The Bulldogs would protect that 1-0 lead through halftime and into the second half until a 60th minute equalizer from St. Thomas.

Following a hand ball in the box, Erick Lopez (Humble/Humble) would score on a penalty kick in the 69th minute, his fifth goal of the season and fourth via penalty kick.

Following a first half that saw 11 fouls from the Celts, the second half would get out of hand as the two teams would combine for five red cards and 18 cards in total. The match would diminish into a nine-versus-eight finish following three Celt ejections and two TLU ejections.

As tempers flared, TLU would hold a 2-1 lead until the 88th minute when the Celts would tie the match 2-2. The Celts would strike again in the 89th minute with the decisive game-winning goal just inside the right post.

Throughout the 90 minutes, the Celts held the edge in shots, launching 15 shots to the Bulldogs eight. The Celts earned seven corners to the Bulldogs one. The Celts also had decided advantage in fouls at 23-9.

Texas Lutheran continues its road trip next Sunday, Oct. 15, as they travel to Colorado Springs to face the Colorado College Tigers. The match is set to kick off at 12 PM MDT/1 PM CST. All streaming and live stats links will be available on tlubulldogs.com.