LONGVIEW, Texas -- Five goals from five different players led the LeTourneau men's soccer team to a 5-2 victory over Dallas in the season opener on Friday night at the Joyce Family Athletic Village.
LeTourneau (1-0) racked up five goals in a match for the first time since March 2021 and scored three times in the second half to break a 2-2 tie.
Graysen Crawford,
Miguel Alvarez,
Tyler Burks,
Axel Pangni, and
Garrett Thom all scored for the YellowJackets.
The YellowJackets struck early as Crawford collected his first collegiate goal in the 10th minute of action.
Caleb Nelson played a ball into the box but Dallas keeper Uday Agarwal mishandled it and Crawford was there to collect and score from short range to make it 1-0.
Just over five minutes later, LeTourneau was back at it. Alvarez's free kick attempt from the left side of the box sliced into the upper right corner of the net to extend the margin to 2-0 in the 16th minute.
Dallas (0-1) answered with two goals before halftime. LeTourneau was not able to clear a service into the box and the ball ricocheted off a YellowJacket defender and into the net to put the Crusaders on the board. In the 45th minute, Andre Brkic evened the contest with his goal, assisted by Victor Salvo.
The teams had few chances over the first 30 minutes of the second half before LeTourneau found its stride again. Nelson was at the center of the action again as his through ball to the box got to the feet of Pangni, who then slid a pass to Burks for the eventual game-winning score in the 76th minute.
In the 81st minute, Pangni was on the receiving end as
Juan Angel Morales' service got to Pangni and he finished around the keeper to extend the lead to 4-2. Thom tacked on an insurance goal in the 87th minute as he collected a strong punt from
Raul Torrez and slid by a defender and the keeper to tally his third career goal.
Torrez made two saves for LeTourneau, while Agarwal made one. LeTourneau held a 12-7 shot advantage.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NIGHT
UP NEXT
LeTourneau hits the road for the first time in 2023 on Monday with a trip to Austin College (8 p.m.).
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