Hounds eliminated from postseason

LUBBOCK – Eastern New Mexico University’s bid for the Lone Star Conference men’s postseason soccer tournament was denied on Wednesday night when Lubbock Christian scored three times in the final 13 minutes to claim a 3-1 victory in the season finale for both squads

ENMU (4-7-6, 2-5-3 LSC) and the Chaparrals (6-6-5, 3-4-3) came into the match tied for eighth in the league, each needing a win and a Texas-Tyler loss to move into the sixth and final spot in the tournament. LCU was eliminated when Tyler managed a 0-0 tie at Sul Ross State earlier in the day, and the Greyhounds then needed to win by two or more goals to earn the tie-breaker over the Patriots, against whom they played to a scoreless draw on Oct. 19.

ENMU opened the scoring in the 30th minute when senior midfielder Giani Mascarel carried the ball from the midfield and beat Chaps junior goalkeeper Connor Pettigrew for his second goal of the campaign. Meantime, ENMU freshman netminder Milo Paci made six of his eight saves in the opening stanza.

That lead held up until freshman forward Justin Martinez tied it with his sixth goal of the year at the 77:35 mark. Then junior defender Joseph Abraham scored his first goal about four minutes later for the lead, and junior defender Alejo Garcia added his first collegiate tally with just under two minutes remaining in the match to seal it.

LCU outshot the Hounds on goal 11-3. Paci finished with eight saves.

Women’s soccer – ENMU finished its campaign on Thursday night, going down to a 4-0 loss at Dallas Baptist that ensured the the Patriots (13-1-3, 10-1-2 Lone Star Conference) the No. 2 seed in the upcoming LSC tournament.

Sophomore forward Angelina Olmos gave DBU the lead with a goal less than two minutes into the match. Junior midfielder Anne Louthan made it 2-0 in the 23rd minute, and the Patriots got goals from senior midfielder Taylor Tufts and senior forward/defender Kaleigh Naizer about five minutes apart midway through the second frame to put it out of reach.

ENMU (3-13,1, 2-11) was outshot 15-5 on goal by DBU, which posted a 6-1 margin in corners. The Hounds have never beaten the Patriots in seven matches (7-0), and have been shut out six times.

Volleyball – ENMU managed to stay at least within striking distance much of the way, but host Texas A&M-Kingsville finished strong in each set and posted a 25-19, 25-16, 25-19 sweep over the Hounds.

Junior outside hitter/setter Rylan Pollard compiled 13 kills for A&M-K (13-11, 5-8 LSC). Meantime, jun8ior setter Elisa Carli had seven aces and 19 assists, while freshman defensive specialist Tayae Garcia and sophomore defensive specialist Isabel Rodriguez posted 12 and 10 digs, respectively.

ENMU (5-19, 2-11) got 10 kills from sophomore outside hitter Sophia Valdez, her fifth consecutive match in double digits. Senior outside hitter/middle blocker Randi Crandall had six kills, a team-leading and personal-best three aces and three block assists, while freshman outside hitter Korah Ives compiled four total kills (one solo) in her first start and freshman setter Cayla Reyes had a match-high 23 assists.

In Game 1, the teams were separated by no more than two points until Rodriguez delivered an ace to make it 18-15. A Valdez kill brought it back to a two-point margin, but Kingsville closed it out with a 7-2 run.

Kingsville scored four in a row to lead 5-1 in the second set, then went on a 7-0 burst to extend a three-point margin to 20-10. A kill from Valdez cut it back to six, but the Hounds got no closer.

In the third set, the Hounds used an 8-1 blitz to open a 9-4 advantage. However, the Javelinas erased a 16-12 deficit with runs of 4-0 and 6-0, and kills by freshman outside hitter Karrington Crawford and senior outside hitter Meghan Stiefer closed it out.

The Hounds played their final road match of the season at Texas A&M International on Saturday. They finish things out at home next weekend against Texas Woman’s at 6 p.m. on Friday and Midwestern State at 2 p.m. on Saturday.