LeTourneau – Sports

TYLER, Texas – Going toe to toe with the number two team in the American Southwest Conference for the first 75 minutes of the game, the LeTourneau University men’s soccer team saw a few unlucky bounces break for host Texas-Tyler in a 5-2 road loss in Tyler, Texas on Saturday, October 14.

Seeing their four-game ASC point streak snapped, the YellowJackets fell to 2-6-4 overall and 2-3-2 in the conference while the Patriots improved to 7-2-3 and 6-1-1 in the ASC.

LETU played an up and down first half against UTT, as a total of four goals would be scored in the opening 45 minutes of play. The YellowJackets struck first with a goal in the 10th minute from Eduardo Barron to take a 1-0 lead and stun the Patriots who came into tonight having not given up a goal in the previous three games. Texas-Tyler would draw a penalty kick in the 25th minute following a foul in the box and convert to tie the game at one when the fireworks began. Just 48 seconds after the penalty kick, Lucas Pereira would bounce a shot past LeTourneau goalie Miguel Cabrera into the lower left corner for a goal and give the Patriots a 2-1 lead.

Not to be outdone, junior Alec Wier responded to the goals by UTT with a goal a mere 29 seconds after the YellowJackets gave up the lead by going opposite corner to beat Patriot goalie John McGuffin. Following the flurry of three goals in a span of 1:17, the final 19 minutes of the half would go scoreless as both teams entered halftime with the score tied at two.

The second half would start out with both teams sitting back and waiting for their opportunities to break through with only three shots put up in the first 30 minutes of the second period. As the Patriots headed down the stretch, they would send a ball across the box in front of the goal line that Cabrera would be unable to hang on to and find the foot of another UTT player to break the deadlock and give Texas-Tyler a 3-2 lead.

UT-T would continue their scoring run by netting another goal off of a deflected shot would once again find an open Patriot to make the score 4-2 as the YellowJackets would be sent looking to fight back with only 13 minutes left in regulation. A fifth goal for the Patriots at the 85:50 mark would make the score 5-2 in favor of UT-T, where it would end up as final.

Texas-Tyler claimed a 17-7 advantage in shots and had a 9-5 advantage in shots on goal while also staking a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks. Wier led LeTourneau with three total shots while Zachariah Malik, Edgar Sanchez, David Sanchez, and Barron each put up one shot.

A chance to rebound for the YellowJackets will be next up on Thursday, October 19th with a home game against Belhaven University at 7:30 p.m. The game will be LETU’s first home game in over a month as the YellowJackets last played at home on September 16th. Belhaven will enter Thursday’s contest with an overall record of 2-6-5 and a 1-4-2 record in the ASC.

TYLER, Texas – Stout defensive play which included four saves by senior goalkeeper Carrye Funk would not be enough as the LeTourneau University women’s soccer team would wind up on the losing end of a 1-0 overtime game at the University of Texas-Tyler in Tyler, Texas on Saturday, October 14.

LETU falls to 6-5-3 and 2-4-2 in the American Southwest Conference while the Patriots improved to 5-4 in the ASC while running their overall record to 8-4.

The first half would see the YellowJackets come out aggressively on the offensive side of things, putting up the first two shots of the game and three of the first four shots while forcing pressure on the Patriot back line. Funk would keep UTT off the board in the first period, making one save as neither team would find many offensive opportunities.

In the second half, the defensive trend would continue as a total of only eight shots (six by UT-Tyler) would be had. LeTourneau’s best opportunity of the game would come at the 47:39 mark in the contest as Keely Hayden would put up a shot that would force a save by Patriot goalie Emily Hurley. 90 minutes of scoreless soccer would send the game to overtime for the sixth time this year for LeTourneau, with the YellowJackets looking for their second extra-time win of the year.

Texas-Tyler would take control of the game in the overtime session, earning a corner kick just 47 seconds into the extra period and putting up a shot only 20 seconds later to force LETU into their third of the field. After clearing the ball out to midfield, the Patriots would reclaim possession and take a 4-1 opportunity towards the YellowJacket’s net where a cross, in front of the goal, would be put away to end the game with 7:06 remaining in the first overtime session.

UT-T held an 18-5 advantage in shots which include a 5-1 edge in shots on goal. Hayden managed to get up two shots in the game while Jennifer Martin, Kelli Sonnier, and Rebekah Stevenson each had one.

The YellowJackets will return home following their four-game road swing by hosting Belhaven University on Thursday, October 19th at 5 p.m. LeTourneau posts a 2-1-2 overall record at home this season heading into their game against the Blazers.

Clinton, Miss. – Sophomore Alexis Segura posted her first top-10 time of the year while junior Michael Field came home in 18th place to pace the LeTourneau University women’s and men’s cross country teams at the Mississippi College Invitational held at Choctaw Trails in Clinton, Mississippi on Saturday, October 14.

Overall, the women would claim the eighth place with 194 points, just four points behind the University of Texas-Tyler who came in seventh. NCAA Division II Alabama-Huntsville won the women’s team title with a total of 34 points while having the top two individual finishers.

Segura posted her best time of the year with 19:47.30 on the 5K course, while freshman Kirstiana Welch came in 29th overall with a 20:56.87. Brittany Bergman posted a personal best of 21:32.10 to finish 44th overall followed by Allison Fuller (69th, 23:15.56), Bridey Davis (70th, 23:16.40), and Olivia Stine (94th, 26:10.95) in the 119 runner field.

The LeTourneau men finished with a team score of 242, which would be good enough for ninth and coming in just behind East Texas Baptist who finished eighth with 235 points. With 25 points and the second, third, and fourth overall individual, Alabama-Huntsville would make a sweep of the men’s and women’s team titles.

Field’s finish of 18th overall with a time of 27:57.20 would be the third best time posted by an American Southwest Conference runner in the meet. Austin Coblentz came in 41st overall with a 29:13.34 while freshman Nathan Glastetter finished 58th overall with a time of 30:29.31. Ryan Mailhot rounded out the LETU team score with a 95th place finish and a 37:36.87.

Today was the last meet before the YellowJackets take part in the American Southwest Conference Championship meet, held on Saturday, October 28th. Concordia University Texas will serve as the host of the meet this year, with the event taking place at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock, Texas.

ABILENE, Texas – After winning the first set of the match, the LeTourneau University volleyball team fell in four games to Hardin-Simmons University in the second set of the ASC Crossover in Abilene, Texas.

The YellowJackets took the first set 25-22 over the Cowgirls while recording 16 kills and only committing three attacking errors. The Cowgirls would be limited to a hitting percentage of .150 in the game while being forced into seven attack errors.

In the second set, the YellowJackets would fall 14-25. HSU would put up a strong defensive front that would cause the YellowJackets to come up with seven kills and never lead after taking the first point of the set.

The third set would start off as an even game with the YellowJackets and Cowgirls keeping within one point of each other until the Cowgirls would get going on a seven-point run that would prove too much for LETU to come back. HSU would take set three 25-18 after leading by as many as 11 points at 21-10.

In set four, the YellowJackets fell 15-25 as another HSU run midway through the match would do in LETU. After tying the score at 6-6 on a kill by Elyse Wright, Hardin-Simmons would reel off five of the next six points before opening up an 18-12 lead and never let LeTourneau get back into the set.

Hailey Matthews led the YellowJackets with 14 kills followed by Julie Smith who recorded six kills and two blocks. Liz Williams led the defense with 18 digs while Cam Taylor was only one dig behind her with 17.

The YellowJackets will be on the court again tomorrow at 3:00 pm against Concordia University Texas to close out the ASC Crossover Tournament. The game will at McMurry University.

ABILENE, Texas – Bouncing back from a three-set loss at Texas-Tyler on Wednesday night, the LeTourneau University volleyball team picked up a three-set victory over Sul Ross State University to kick off the American Southwest Conference crossover tournament at Hardin-Simmons University on Friday, October 13.

LETU is now 7-15 overall and 2-8 in the American Southwest conference while the Lobos fall to 2-21 overall and 0-12 in the ASC.

A tightly contested start to the first set would find the teams trading points to begin the game as the score would be tied at 5-5 on a kill by freshman Hailey Matthews. After tying the set again at 6-6, the YellowJackets would open up a three-point lead at 12-9 before building their lead up to a seven-point advantage at 18-11. Holding onto their lead, LeTourneau would be able to trade any potential comeback from Sul Ross in the set to come away with a 25-21 set victory while forcing the Lobos into a -0.71 attack percentage.

LETU’s offense would start to pick up in the second set as the YellowJackets would find themselves in an early 6-3 hole. LeTourneau would battle back with three straight points to tie the match at six which would be followed by four additional ties to put the game at 13-13. Neither team would be able to pull away SRSU would have an answer for every LeTourneau point, eventually claiming a 19-17 lead. Trailing by two, the YellowJackets would turn the corner by scoring three straight points to reclaim a 20-19 lead before going on to score the final four points of the match and come away with a 25-21 set victory.

LeTourneau’s best offensive output of the match would come in the third set as LETU would trail only twice in the game. After jumping out to an early 6-3 lead, Sul Ross would manage to tie the set at 9-9 and take the lead at 10-9 on a service ace before a service error tied the match back up at 10-10. With the score tied at 11, LETU would score three straight points and manage to take six of the next seven points to open up a 16-12 lead before eventually pushing their lead to 20-14. Sul Ross would make one final push at the YellowJackets by pulling within a point at 21-20, but LETU would pull away down the stretch to close out the match with their third consecutive set win of 25-21.

Matthews would lead all players with 12 kills while seniors Savanna Stutts and Elyse Wright each had seven. Mikayla Thomas recorded a season-high five blocks while Cam Taylor had a game-high 20 assists. Liz Williams led the YellowJackets with 27 digs.

LeTourneau returns to the court tonight at 5:30 p.m. when they will take on host school Hardin-Simmons University.

VOLLEYBALL

TYLER, Texas – Never was able to find their rhythm offensively, the LeTourneau University volleyball team could not overcome a high output by the University of Texas-Tyler in a three-set defeat in Tyler, Texas on Wednesday, October 11.

Scores of the sets were 25-21, 25-11, and 25-12.

Things would get off to a rough start from the get-go as the Patriots would score the first five points of the match and quickly jump out to a 10-3 lead in the first set. LETU would manage to fall behind by a score of 13-3 before battling back by scoring seven of the next nine points to close the gap to 17-9. Trailing 21-12 late in the first set, the YellowJackets managed to go on another massive run by scoring eight of the next 10 points, but the early hole would be too large in a 25-21 defeat.

Hoping to use some momentum built off the end of the first set, LeTourneau would again see the Patriots jump out early by creating a 5-2 lead and never letting the YellowJackets get any closer as the lead would balloon to 16-5 after an 8-0 run by UTT. Points would be few and far in between for LETU in the set before ultimately dropping the second match by a score of 25-11 that saw the Patriots hit .312 in the game.

Facing two sets to zero holes, UT-Tyler would keep the pressure on the YellowJackets despite LETU keeping pace with the Patriots early on in the match. A kill by Hailey Matthews would be the start of three straight points for LeTourneau to cut the UTT lead to 11-9 and force a Patriot timeout. The timeout would seem to do the trick for the Patriots as the next three points would go to UT-Tyler as part of a run that saw UTT score nine of the following 10 points to open up a 20-10 lead and run away with a final set victory of 25-12.

After committing only two attack errors en route to hitting .206 in the first set, LETU would be held to negative attack percentages in the second and third game while being forced into eight attack errors in each of the last two matches. UT-Tyler held a commanding 9-4 advantage in service aces while collecting ten blocks compared to only four for the YellowJackets.

Individually, eight kills by Matthews would lead LETU while sophomore Mikayla Thomas had six kills and a team-high attack percentage of .235. Senior Korissa White had 11 set assists to go with one service ace while Liz Williams had a team-high ten digs.

An opportunity for a big weekend is in store for the YellowJackets as they travel to Abilene, Texas to take part in the second American Southwest Conference Crossover Tournament of the season. LETU will play at Hardin-Simmons University on Friday and take on Sul Ross State University at 10 a.m. before squaring off with the Cowgirls at 5:30 p.m. Saturday will see the YellowJackets play at McMurry University and take on Concordia University Texas at 3:00 p.m.

 

CLARKSVILLE, Arkansas – Facing a two-goal deficit early in the second half, the LeTourneau University men’s soccer team would score two goals in the final 20 minutes of regulation before playing an additional 20 minutes of scoreless soccer. They came away with a 2-2 draw at the University of Ozarks at Hurie Soccer Field in Clarksville, Arkansas on Thursday, October 12.

The YellowJackets have now picked up points on the road in four consecutive American Southwest Conference matches to move to 2-5-4 overall and 2-2-2 in the ASC while the Eagles now stand at 6-4-1 and 3-3-1 in conference play.

Opportunities came early and often in the first half for as Ozarks would strike first with a goal in the 11th minute by Thomas Ross into the upper left corner off an assist from Micheal Luster. Trailing by a score of 1-0 midway through the half, Guillermo Torres and Alec Wier would each have one shot, but see their shots sail wide and high of the goal as the Eagles would cling onto a 1-0 lead at intermission.

In the second half, the U of O would wind up scoring at nearly an identical point in the half with a goal coming from Sean Garcia at the 57:17 mark to make the score 2-0 and put the YellowJackets in their most significant hole of the season. Heart and determination would take over for LeTourneau after giving up the second goal as Porfirio Benitez and Eduardo Barron each let off shots that would miss in the 61st and 62nd minutes, but give LETU hope as the offense was starting to find opportunities.

The 71st minute would find junior Edward Solis sending the ball into the box from 30 yards to Wier, who would manage to get up higher than the rest of the players in the box and put his head on the ball and redirect it past Eagle goalkeeper Logan Valestin to cut the Ozarks lead in half. LETU would keep the pressure on the Eagles as time would start to wind down and the opportunities become fewer and fewer.

A foul on each team in the final minutes of the game allowed for the YellowJackets to take a free kick from 25 yards out with just over three minutes left in the game. Benitez would be called upon to make the free kick and bend it around the Ozark wall and beat Valestin to give LeTourneau the equalizer they were looking for with just 2:14 left in regulation.

With the game winding up going to overtime, a total of three shots (two by LeTourneau) would be all in the extra 20 minutes of play. The three total shots would end up being harmless to both squads, giving the YellowJackets a hard-fought road point and their fourth tie of the year.

“We showed a lot of character battling back from a two-goal deficit today,” said head coach Matthew Haesecke in a post-game interview. “We had the run of play in the second half and overtime, and I am extremely proud of this team for not giving up.”

LeTourneau held a 14-11 advantage in shots on goal as the Eagles put up seven corner kicks compared to six for the YellowJackets. Benitez led all players with five total shots while scoring his first goal of the year. With a goal in the 71st minute, Wier has now scored in three consecutive games.

LETU will look to continue their ASC point streak on Saturday, October 14th by closing out a six-game road trip with a 6 p.m. match at the University of Texas-Tyler. The Patriots are 5-2-3 overall and 4-1-1 in the American Southwest Conference heading into a home match Thursday night at East Texas Baptist University.

CLARKSVILLE, Arkansas – After conceding an early goal, the LeTourneau University women’s soccer team found an equalizer just 18 seconds into the second half before coming away with a 1-1 tie at the University of the Ozarks on the road.

Following their third draw of the year, LETU is now 6-4-3 overall, and 2-3-2 in the American Southwest Conference while the host Eagles sit at 5-6-1 and 1-6-1 in their first conference tie this season.

In the fourth minute, the Eagles would get off their only shot of the first half that would lead to a goal by Mikayla Davis. Davis’s goal would be the only goal of the first half and carry the U of O lead of 1-0 into halftime.

The YellowJackets would record three shots in the first half with one of them forcing a save by the Eagle goalkeeper, Kiara Henry.

The YellowJackets wasted no time evening the scoreline in the second half as freshman Jennifer Martin would send a ball through to sophomore Kelli Sonnier. Sonnier would then manage to finish it off with a shot into the back of the net and tie the game just 18 seconds into the period. Although the YellowJackets would outshoot Ozarks by an 11-8 margin, the score would be tied 1-1 through the end of regulation.

In the first overtime, LETU would show a high defensive line by limiting Ozarks to only three shots that would not find the goal frame as the Eagles would hold possession for a majority of the extra frame.

The second overtime would see a complete opposite of the first overtime as LETU would be the ones providing a robust offensive effort while holding possession. The YellowJackets would have three shots with two of them forcing saves by the Eagles as the YellowJackets would be unable to net the second goal and be forced to settle for the tie.

“Our effort and level of play were very good today,” said head coach John Antonisse in a postgame interview. “We came back from a one-goal deficit and tied it up early on in the second half, but we just didn’t find the game-winner that we put in a lot of effort to get.” “Overall, we had a good day and were able to come away with one point which is never easy to do on the road.”

The YellowJackets will next be in action on Saturday, October 14th at the University of Texas-Tyler. Kickoff against the Patriots is slated for 3:30 PM.

Matt Kinney
Sports Information Director