Austin College 3 - 2 DePauw

Winning feels so good. After the loss against Centre, we knew we needed to come out strong against DePauw, who was undefeated in conference play this year. We were looking for our first conference win, and we came out and grinded out 3 points.

DePauw came out aggressive with 6 shots in the first 15 minutes of the game. Matt Dickinson (Paris, TX) kept them at bay and was big all game, making 8 saves on the day. After the first 15 minutes, our offense started becoming a threat. We had a number of fast counter attacks that were promising. Sophomore Garrett Evans (Red Oak, TX) found the net for the first time this year. Evans received a pass at the top of the box from Freshman Luis Castillo (Kingwood, TX) and with a man on his back, Evans put the ball by the keeper to make it 1-0. Garrett has been looking for that first goal all season, and with that pressure now off, we look forward to seeing what he will do.

Our defense struggled to get comfortable in the first half. DePauw hit the far post on a shot in the 34th minute, but they settled down and tightened up the defending. Freshman Stephen Crisco (Weatherford, TX) played a great game as our holding midfielder for the full 90 minutes. His strength and simple play makes his presence felt in the middle.

After providing an assist earlier in the first half, Castillo wasn't done. With just over a minute left in the first half, Luis got possession in traffic. After beating one man, Luis turned from 30 yards out and hit a bomb to beat the keeper in the top corner far post. It was an amazing goal that lifted our bench and gave us good momentum into the half.

We started the second half with good energy, and 10 minutes in Evans would put more pressure on their defense. We got another goal when DePauw gave up an OG off a cross to Evans, making the score 3-0.

After some close calls and help from the crossbar, we would see that score all the way up to the 85th minute when the referee gave DePauw a PK. 3-1. The last 5 minutes of the game was a circus. DePauw kept fighting and the barrage of shots was too much. We gave up another goal with 01:30 left in the game. After an unchallenged 50/50 ball in the midfield, DePauw took the ball down the field and got a corner with :45 seconds left. The GK ran the length of the field to get in. We won the header and looked to get forward. Matt Rogers (Sherman, TX) had the ball on a dead sprint toward their goal, but missed the shot to chip the keeper. We kept possession and Castillo found Senior Nicolas Ayala (Dallas, TX) with seconds left in the game. Nico took a touch and blasted it upper 90. Our bench, fans, Coach Hudson went crazy, but the goal was called back by a VERY questionable offside decision. We cleaned up the free kick and won the game 3-2.

It was an exciting game, close game, but a win is a win. We needed the 3 points and got them. Thanks for the support, the guys love a good crowd out there. Now we look forward to an exciting Homecoming Weekend on Saturday against Colorado College. Go ROOS!!!