East Texas Baptist rolls past Schreiner men on Saturday, 5-2

The Schreiner University men’s soccer team endured a roller-coaster week from Sept. 8-13, posting one victory against two defeats while showing flashes of offensive potential.

The Mountaineers opened the week with a disappointing 3-0 home loss to Marymount (Va.) on Sept. 8 at Mountaineer Soccer Field. The visiting Saints controlled the match from the start, with Jefferson Lopez Coreas recording a hat trick in the first half. Lopez Coreas found the net three times between the 7th and 19th minutes, assisted by Matthew Guzman-Veizaga, Merlin Torres and Franklin Cruz-Reyes respectively.

Schreiner managed just five shots compared to Marymount’s nine, with goalkeeper Mason Szymanski making three saves in the defeat. The loss dropped the Mountaineers to 0-5-0 on the season.

The team bounced back three days later with a convincing 3-1 road victory at Howard Payne on Sept. 11. Forward Bhodey Miller opened the scoring in the 24th minute with an unassisted goal, followed by Brandon Fonseca’s first goal of the season eight minutes later off an assist from Brandon Cedillo.

Schreiner sealed the victory in the 78th minute when Brayan Plascencia converted a penalty kick. Howard Payne’s Ethan Mauldin scored a late consolation goal with two minutes remaining. The Mountaineers outshot the Yellow Jackets 16-7 and earned their first win of the campaign.

The positive momentum was short-lived, however, as Schreiner fell 5-2 to East Texas Baptist on Sept. 13 in their final home game of the week. Despite an entertaining back-and-forth first half, the Mountaineers couldn’t maintain their early scoring pace.

East Texas Baptist’s Lars Clark struck first in the 26th minute before LaCondre Hall equalized for Schreiner just over a minute later with his first goal of the season. Lucas Arreguin restored the Tigers’ lead, but Plascencia answered with his second penalty conversion of the week to level the score at 2-2.

Abdulqader Majid’s goal five minutes before halftime gave East Texas Baptist a 3-2 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Luke Hunsinger and Clark added second-half goals to complete the 5-2 victory for the visitors.

Szymanski faced heavy action throughout the week, making 14 total saves across the three matches. The sophomore goalkeeper from Frisco has been a consistent bright spot despite the team’s early-season struggles.

With the week’s results, Schreiner stands at 1-6-0 overall heading into conference play. The Mountaineers will look to build on their lone victory when they host Texas A&M San Antonio on Sept. 18.

The offensive contributions from Miller, Fonseca, Hall and Plascencia provide reasons for optimism as the team continues to develop chemistry in the attacking third. Plascencia’s two penalty conversions demonstrate his reliability from the spot, while the variety of goal scorers suggests the team is developing multiple offensive threats.

Schreiner will need to tighten defensively and maintain the attacking intensity shown against Howard Payne if they hope to compete consistently in conference play.