A late season battle between two conference opponents went in favor of the Tornadoes on Saturday night as Concordia University Texas earned a 3-0 victory over the YellowJackets.
 
After a first half that yielded no goals for either side, CTX was able to score from outside the box in the 58^th minute to take 1-0 lead early in the second half.
 
LETU would then face the challenge of playing down a man. Senior Antonio Fernandez was shown his second yellow card after committing a foul in the 60^th minute which disqualified him from the game. The YellowJackets would have to play the final 30 minutes with only nine field players as they tried to make a comeback in the second half.
 
The YellowJackets continued to battle as they put four shots on goal including two from sophomore Alec Wier and junior Israel Madrid in the 80^th minute that would have evened the score late in the game.
 
Senior Brian Howell made incredible saves in a game that would require a lot of effort from the defensive unit playing down a man. Howell recorded eight saves on the night for the YellowJackets.
 
The back line of Alec Wier, Kieran Coull, Alan Flores and senior leader Hunter Swift were able to stifle the Tornado offense for most of the game despite the number disadvantage.

"We had to push guys forward to try to equalize and eventually conceded two late goals," said head coach Matthew Haesecke. "I couldn't be more proud of my guys for the fight they showed tonight. They battled the whole way, especially our back line and Brian (Howell), they definitely responded to the challenge."
 
LETU would continue to go on the attack trying to tie the game but the Tornadoes were finally able to capitalize with two transition goals in the 85^th and 89^th minutes to stretch the lead to 3-0.

LeTourneau falls to 5-9-2 on the season and 2-6 in conference play. The YellowJackets are currently tied with Howard Payne for eighth in conference points but HPU holds the head-to-head tie breaker.

Next weekend's matchups will have playoff implications for LeTourneau as they try to make the ASC tournament for the first time since 2011.
 
Hardin-Simmons will come to Longview on Friday night for a 7:30 matchup as the Cowboys sit fourth in the ASC standings after the weekend.
 
The YellowJackets will then turn their focus onto the Warhawks of McMurry as they celebrate senior night at 7:30 on Saturday. Six LETU seniors will be playing in their final game at the Joyce Family Athletic Village.