ROUND ROCK, Texas -- The LeTourneau men's soccer team won a conference tournament game for the third straight year to move on to the semifinals of the SCAC Tournament.
The YellowJackets found a way to punch their way ahead in the second half of a slow-moving match against Dallas, winning 2-0 Thursday night at the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex.
LeTourneau (11-6-1) fought through a tough first half and finally broke through in the second half despite strong defense from Dallas (6-10). The shutout was the third straight for the YellowJackets, for only the fourth time in the program's Division III era. The last time LeTourneau had three consecutive shutouts was in 2022.
The YellowJackets finally broke the tie in the second half. In the 63rd minute, Bridge Mwambukiri dribbled the ball straight through the teeth of the Crusaders defense and eventually was brought down and fouled just outside the box. The sophomore then had a clean look at the net off of the free-kick, which he knocked into the bottom left corner with his right foot to give LeTourneau a 1-0 lead. The goal for Mwambukiri turned out to be his fourth game-winner of the season.
It didn't take long for the No. 3 seed to strike again. In the 67th minute, Zach Parris launched a deep pass to Colton Chalker that drew Dallas keeper Kabe Bylaw out of the net. Chalker then made an acrobatic play to tip the ball over Bylaw with his head, setting up an easy chip in goal to give LeTourneau a 2-0 lead. The assist was the first of Parris's career.
The YellowJackets held on to the 2-0 lead for the remainder of the game, allowing only one shot on goal in the final 33 minutes of play.
LeTourneau outshot Dallas 18-11 and landed six shots on goal to the Crusaders' three.
Edson Camara Martinez came up huge for LeTourneau with another shutout, the 12th of his career, which puts him third on the program's record book. Camara Martinez played all 90 minutes and collected three saves. Bylaw logged the full 90 minutes for Dallas and had four saves.
LeTourneau picked up its 11th win of the season, which is the most wins the program has had since 2006.
The win places the YellowJackets in the semifinals of the SCAC Tournament for the second straight year.
UP NEXT
LeTourneau will face Concordia Texas in a rematch of last years SCAC quarterfinal matchup on Friday night (7:30 p.m.).
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