PINEVILLE, La. – Forced to hold off a late charge from host Louisiana College, the LeTourneau University men's soccer team picked up a crucial 2-1 road victory over the Wildcats at Wildcat Stadium in Pineville, Louisiana on Thursday, October 18th.
 
The win moves LETU to .500 overall at 6-6-1 and 5-3-0 in the American Southwest Conference. LC falls to 4-10-1 overall and 3-6-0 in the ASC.
 
How It Happened:

• Louisiana College would play an attacking style in the opening minutes of the game, forcing the YellowJackets into the defensive third of the field while having to fend off a trio of shots in the opening 12 minutes of the match.
• LETU's first shot of the match would come at the 13:16 mark from Christian Hunter, as the game would become more of a back-and-forth up tempo affair.
• Things would continue to be played across the entire length of the field as both team would see opportunities open up to put pressure on the opposing defenses, but no goals would be found in the opening 45 minutes of action.
• In the early stages of the second half, LeTourneau would hold possession and see a shot from Moises Soto-Barrera go wide before earning a corner kick in the 53rd minute.
• With Luis De La Torre sending in the corner, Louisiana College goalie Evan Barker would deflect the ball off the end line back into play where Soto Barrera would be waiting and put the ball into the back of the net to put LETU up 1-0 at the 52:57 mark.
• LC would nearly find an equalizer just over 10 minutes later, putting a shot off the crossbar and seeing a second shot blocked mere moments later as LETU would call on three substitutions to try and get fresh legs in the game.
• The players off the bench would provide a spark for the YellowJackets as LETU would once again begin to take control of possession and put pressure on the Wildcat defense to eventually force an LC foul in the 18-yard box to draw a penalty kick.
• Zachariah Malik would step up to take the penalty kick in the 75th minute and convert to give LeTourneau a 2-0 lead as LETU looked to be in full control heading into the final stages of the game.
• Louisiana College would not go quietly however, pressing on offense to try and give themselves an opportunity to make a late comeback after cutting the lead to 2-1 on a goal at the 85:36 mark.
• Clinging on to their one goal lead, LETU would have to watch in angst as a corner kick by LC in the 89th minute would lead to a pair of shots for the Wildcats with the second shot going off the crossbar before being cleared away.
• The pair of shots would be the last threat that the YellowJackets would have to face as LETU would manage to run out the clock on the Wildcats and secure their fourth straight victory over Louisiana College.

Key Stats:

• LETU would have to overcome a 15-10 deficit in shots in the match, as the Wildcats would put up eight shots in the first half before taking seven shots in the second half.
• Despite facing the multitude of shots, LeTourneau would only face four shots on goal while attempting four shots on goal of their own.
• Assisting on the first goal of the night, De La Torre has now recorded at least one point in nine of the 12 matches he has appeared in this year and has recorded an assist in back-to-back matches.
• Soto-Barrera's goal off the bench was just the second of his career, with the other goal coming in a two-overtime win against Hardin-Simmons.

What's Next?
With three matches remaining in the regular-season, LeTourneau currently sits in fourth-place in the American Southwest Conference standings and is two points clear of fifth-place University of the Ozarks. The YellowJackets will have a chance to extend that gap with a 7:30 p.m. match at Belhaven University on Saturday, October 20th in Jackson, Mississippi. The Blazers were defeated by East Texas Baptist University on Thursday evening by a final score of 2-0.