A pair of Lone Star Conference men’s soccer teams closed out the regular season with undefeated weeks as UT Tyler and West Texas A&M both went 2-0. The Buffs picked up their second win of the season over No. 6 Midwestern State to secure the second seed in the conference tournament.
LSC men’s soccer teams are a combined 72-65-8 this season.
LSC schedule and results are available here: https://lonestarconference.org/calendar.aspx?path=msoc
2021 LSC Men’s Soccer Championship
The 2021 LSC Men's Soccer Championship Tournament will feature the top six teams based on conference points accumulated during the regular season. The tournament will begin on Tuesday, Nov. 9, with quarterfinal matches on the campuses of the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds. The semifinals and championship match will be played at the No. 1 overall seed Midwestern State. The semifinals will be played on Friday, Nov. 12, followed by the championship match on Sunday, Nov. 14. For more information, visit LSC Men’s Soccer Championship Central.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Salvador Vargas Ramos, UT Permian Basin, SR, Kinesiology, MF, Incline Village, Nev., Incline HS
Vargas Ramos led the UTPB offense in their win against Lubbock Christian to clinch the final spot in the LSC tournament on Senior Day. The senior scored a hat trick in the first half giving the Falcons a 3-1 lead. It marked the first time a Falcon has recorded a hat trick since the 2017 season. He had eight total shots, four of which landed on goal. He now leads the Falcons in points on the year.
DEFENSIVE
Thierry Assamoi, UT Tyler, SR, Chemical Engineering, MF, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Birkdale School
Assamoi, UT Tyler’s senior captain, played a monumental part in securing a postseason berth for the Patriots last week. Assamoi was part of a defensive effort that shut out St. Mary's for only the second time this season. On Saturday against DBU, Assamoi scored his first career goal in a Patriots uniform heading in a corner kick in the first minute of overtime to secure the win. His goal sent the Patriots to the LSC tournament for the second year in a row.
GOALKEEPER
Mathias Eriksen, UT Tyler, JR, Marketing, GK, Vejle, Denmark, Campus Vejle
Eriksen collected his fourth shutout of the season on Wednesday night as the Patriots beat St. Mary's by a score of 3-0 with six saves in the match. Against DBU on Saturday, Eriksen saved a shot in the final three minutes force the game into overtime where UTT scored the game-winner inside the first minute. The junior faced a total of 31 shots on the week while making a combined 7 saves. He was instrumental in helping UT Tyler secure a postseason tournament berth in back-to-back seasons.
WEEKLY AWARDS
Offensive
S-7 Trevor Amann, Midwestern State
S-14 Giancarlo Saldana, West Texas A&M
S-21 Giancarlo Saldana, West Texas A&M (2)
S-28 Giancarlo Saldana, West Texas A&M (3)
O-5 Cian Foley, St. Mary's
O-12 Mere Escobar, Midwestern State
O-19 Denis Herrera, West Texas A&M
O-26 Julian Barajas, Midwestern State
N-2 Mere Escobar, Midwestern State (2)
N-9 Salvador Vargas Ramos, UT Permian Basin
Defensive
S-7 Carlos Vargas, Midwestern State
S-14 Luca Hollenstein, Lubbock Christian
S-21 Grayson Ellett, Midwestern State
S-28 Anthony Perea, West Texas A&M
O-5 Alain Peralt, St. Mary's
O-12 Luca Hollenstein, Lubbock Christian (2)
O-19 Liam Morrison, St. Mary's
O-26 Lewis Wilson, St. Mary's
N-2 Ivan Muanze-Bengono, Lubbock Christian
N-9 Thierry Assamoi, UT Tyler
Goalkeeper
S-7 Marc-Antoine Huzen, Midwestern State
S-14 Braxton Thorne, Lubbock Christian
S-21 Mathias Eriksen, UT Tyler
S-28 Alexander Knepper, DBU
O-5 Andre Schlaefli, St. Mary's
O-12 Braxton Thorne, Lubbock Christian (2)
O-19 Raul Guillamon-Bejar, St. Mary’s
O-26 Marc-Antoine Huzen, Midwestern State (2)
N-2 Braxton Thorne, Lubbock Christian (3)
N-9 Mathias Eriksen, UT Tyler (2)
SELECTED NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Bryan Rivas-Guzman, UT Tyler, had a huge impact over the Patriots final two games of the regular season. On Wednesday night against St. Mary's, Rivas-Guzman was able to head down a loose ball right to the feet of teammate Xjavier Martinez, slotted it into the net giving the Patriots a 2-0 lead. With UTT trailing 2-0 on Saturday to DBU, the freshman put away a penalty kick to jump start the Patriot rally. He struck again on the game-winning goal setting up Thierry Assamoi from a corner to give UTT the win and a spot in the postseason.
Jacopo Ghezzi, Lubbock Christian, was on the field for every minute of LCU's two games on the week as they went 1-1. He scored goals in both games, increasing his streak of games with a goal scored to three. Ghezzi had five shots on the week overall, three of which were on goal, and his goal against DBU proved to be the game-winner. He is now tied for the team lead in goals with four and has nine points this season.