EDINBURG, Texas – For the second time in as many matches, sophomore forward
Marcelo Acuna found the back of the net, as his tally in the 95th minute gave HBU men's soccer a hard-fought 1-0 overtime win over Buffalo on the final day of the UT-Rio Grande Valley Invitational.
"The boys played well," said HBU head coach
Steve Jones. "They created a lot of chances and played really hard. Buffalo was the hardest team there. They were a hard-working team. A lot of players had good moments for us.
Chance Pope did a really good job in his first collegiate action. Overall, things went well on our back line.
Devon Grant did a great job on their best player and
Darrell Johnson had a really good tournament."
Acuna took a match-high four shots to lead HBU (2-2-0), while
Dominick Faletto had three.
George Kelley took a pair of shots and the trio had a shot on goal apiece.
Philip Poser played the first half and did not make a save. Pope saw his first collegiate action and earned the win, making two saves in 49:55.
Russell Cicerone took two shots for Buffalo (3-1-1), while Alec Fisher and Scott Doney each had a shot on goal. Cameron Hogg took the loss between the pipes as he made two saves.
Both teams had opportunities in the early goings of the match, as Buffalo had three shot attempts and one corner kick and HBU had five shots and two corners in the first 20 minutes. Less than a minute entering the match,
Josue Palomino's shot attempt went just wide right in the 42nd minute.
HBU outshot the Bulls, 9-3, in the first half, and 2-0 in shots on goal. The Huskies also had three of the half's four corner kicks.
The Bulls nearly got the upper hand in the 68th minute as Cicerone's shot hit the post. The Huskies had a flurry in the 78th minute, with three corner kicks and
Kameron Maney's shot going wide right. With under a minute left in regulation, Pope stopped Fisher to keep the match scoreless.
Buffalo had the first opportunity in overtime, with a corner kick, but a foul on the Bulls nullified the chance. Less than two minutes later,
Marc- Anthone sent a pass into the box to Acuna, who kicked it on a hop past Hogg for the game winner.
HBU outshot the Bulls, 14-6, in the match and had a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks.
Acuna, Grant, and Johnson were all named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Huskies compete in the Gonzaga Invitational next weekend. HBU faces Milwaukee Sept. 11 at 2 pm central and Hartwick Sept. 13 at 6 pm central.
