LONGVIEW – The LeTourneau YellowJackets men's soccer team clinched its first trip to the American Southwest Conference playoffs since the 2005 season with a 4-1 triumph over McMurry on Friday.
Edwin Raudales (Hurst, Texas/Hurst) scored the first of three second-half goals for the YellowJackets (6-8-2), who improved to 6-4 in ASC play.
The win insured the YellowJackets can finish no worse than with a .545 winning percentage, while Concordia (5-4-3 ASC) can finish no better than .538 in league play.
(The YellowJackets had road contests at Howard Payne and Texas-Tyler suspended due to weather and electrical issues. When not every match can be played, the ASC standings are determined by winning percentage, with ties counting as one-third of a win.)
Raudales claimed the first match-winning goal of his career in the 56th minute when he drilled a shot from 20 yards out through a crowded penalty area and into the upper-lefthand corner of the goal. The War Hawks were unable to clear a corner kick off the foot of Ben Stoeckmann (Waukesha, Wis./Faith Christian School) and Raudales seized the opportunity.
Stoeckmann added a goal for himself off a free kick from 27 yards in the 64th minute. Freshman midfielder Danny Canaviri (Herleysville, Pa./Santa Cruz [Bolivia] CLC) capped the second-half scoring four minutes later with a goal off a corner kick from Eric Reyes (Guatemala City/Judson University).
The Jackets controlled the pace of play for the duration of the contest and fired 13 shots on goal compared to three for the War Hawks. Trey McLaughlin (Sunnyvale, Texas/North Mesquite) put the Jackets ahead in the third minute with his third goal of the season, with Dillon Holt (Boerne, Texas/Boerne) picking up the assist.
LeTourneau was in cruise control until the 19th minute when McMurry's Sheharyar Khan knotted the game at one when headed home a rebound off the LeTourneau crossbar.
After LeTourneau's barrage of goals in the second half, head coach Matt Haesecke was able to empty his bench as every LeTourneau player on the active roster entered the game. Koffi Eklou (Lome, Togo/Secondaire Ambourhouet) and Seth Richter (Cypress, Texas/Cypress) made their varsity debuts Friday.
Sophomore goalkeeper Anthony Martinez (Jasper, Texas/Jasper) posted the first victory of his collegiate career in 40 minutes of relief action.
The YellowJackets conclude the regular season Saturday when they host Hardin-Simmons in the second half of an ASC doubleheader. The Cowboys eliminated LeTourneau from playoff contention on the last day of the season in 2010.
Kickoff between the Jackets and Cowboys is scheduled for 6 p.m.
