LeTourneau University

MEN’S SOCCER

SHREVEPORT, LA. – A goal by host Centenary College with just 56 seconds left in the first overtime period allowed for the Gents to come away with a 2-1 win over the LeTourneau University men’s soccer team at Mayo Field in Shreveport, LA on Tuesday, October 3.

With the loss, LETU drops to 1-5-3 overall in their non-conference finale while Centenary improved to 2-7-2 overall.

After a corner kick in the fourth minute of the game leading to a shot by David Sanchez, Centenary would earn a corner kick after a counter down the field. Gabe Rodriguez would send the ball into the box for Scott Halper who would head the ball off the crossbar and into the net to give the Gents an early 1-0 lead just 5:11 into the game.

The YellowJackets would then take control of possession and pace of the first half, letting off 17 a total of shots. Eduardo Barron would put two shots off the crossbar in the first 45 minutes of play, with the opening of the shots coming at the 9:07 mark and the second coming less than three minutes later. Junior Alec Wier would have four of the 17 shots in the first half with the fourth coming on centering pass from Porfirio Benitez which would allow for Wier to finish it off with one touch to tie the game at one in the 37th minute.

With the score tied 1-1 at halftime, LETU would continue their barrage of shots at Centenary goalkeeper Lamar Meza, as Edward Solis would get the YellowJackets best chance of the second half with a shot off the post in the 69th minute. Despite outshooting the Gents 14-3 in the second half, neither team would be able to find the back of the net, sending the game to overtime for the fifth time this season for LeTourneau.

In extra time, the YellowJackets would continue to put pressure on Centenary and control the pace, earning a corner kick in the 94th minute leading to a shot by Benitez that would sail high. Centenary would catch a break after putting pressure on clearance when Seth Fountain would get the ball and finish at the back post to end the game with an overtime winner.

“We outplayed Centenary for nearly the entire game, but our inability to finish let them stay in the match,” said head coach Matthew Haesecke in a post-game interview. “Sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way, and results like this can happen in soccer.” “Our guys played extremely well, and we will be ready to play at East Texas Baptist on Saturday evening.”

LETU held a commanding 32-8 lead in total shots which included a 14-4 advantage in shots on goal. The YellowJackets also held a 7-5 advantage in corner kicks.

LeTourneau will renew their rivalry with East Texas Baptist on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. with a key American Southwest Conference battle. Last season, the YellowJackets picked up a 1-0 win when Guillermo Torres scored at the eight-minute mark off a rebounded shot.

VOLLEYBALL

MARSHALL, Texas – Looking to build momentum off of their first American Southwest Conference win of the year last Saturday, the LeTourneau University volleyball team could not string together any stretches of long runs in a three-set loss to rival East Texas Baptist University at Ornelas Gymnasium in Marshall, Texas on Tuesday, October 3.

LETU falls to 5-13 overall and 1-7 in the ASC with the loss while the Tigers improved to 8-12 overall and 4-4 in conference play.

The YellowJackets would play come out strong in the first set and match ETBU throughout the first set with the largest lead of the set for either team coming at 14-11 in favor of LeTourneau which forced a Tiger timeout. With the score tied at 15-15, East Texas Baptist would score three of the next four points to take an 18-16 lead before LETU would battle back to tie the game at 22-22. After trading points to make the score 23-23, East Texas Baptist would score the final two points of the set to take the set 25-23.

In set two, LeTourneau would fall behind early before tying the set at 2-2 but would get no closer. ETBU would rattle off eight of the next 10 points to open up a 10-4 lead and never look back as the YellowJackets would be unable to pull any closer than 17-13 before the Tigers would come away with a 25-16 set victory.

With their backs against the wall down two sets to zero, LETU would hang close with ETBU early on and tie the score at seven off of a Tiger service error, but once again East Texas Baptist would make a run midway through the set. Seven of the next nine points would go in favor of ETBU forcing a LeTourneau timeout, but it would be too little too late as the Tigers would pull away for good with a 25-20 set victory to close out the match in straight sets.

LETU was held to just a .038 attack percentage compared to a .185 attack percentage for East Texas Baptist, while each team recorded three blocks on the night.

The YellowJackets were led by senior Elyse Wright with eight kills and one block while freshman Hailey Matthews had seven kills and 16 digs. Cameron Taylor had 11 assists while Liz Williams led all players with 17 digs.

Senior night will be on Friday, October 6 as LeTourneau will host Centenary College and Jarvis Christian College for a triangular meet. LETU will play the Ladies at 3:00 p.m. before facing the Bulldogs at 7;00 p.m. Three YellowJacket seniors (Korissa White, Elyse Wright, and Savanna Stutts) will be honored prior to the match against Jarvis Christian.

 

MEN’S GOLF

KILLEEN, Texas – The LeTourneau University men’s golf team followed up a first round score of 308 with a final round of 313 to finish in ninth place at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Fall Invitational held at Stonetree Golf Club in Killeen, Texas on Tuesday, October 3.

LETU finished with a two-day total of 621, just three shots back of Howard Payne who shot a final round 301 to edge the YellowJackets with a 618. Trinity University took home top team honors with a two-day total of 589 followed by Texas Lutheran with a 598 and Hardin-Simmons University with a 599.

Senior Daniel Kay and freshman Cody Taylor would lead LeTourneau on the individual side of things by finishing tied for 27th with a score of 154.  Chris Clark would finish a shot back of Kay and Taylor after shooting a final round of five-over 77 to finish with a 155 while Mason Terry (39th, 158) and Dustin Dingler (T44, 161) finished out the YellowJacket team score. Individualists Shance Sims (50th) and Caleb Biggers (51st) shot a 167 and 169, respectively.

The Alamo City Classic will be the next time that LETU hits the links after taking next week off to regroup and get in some extra preparation. Trinity University is the host of the meet which will be held October 16 and 17 at Quarry Golf Club in San Antonio.

 

Matt Kinney

Sports Information Director