HOBBS, N.M. – Prior to the start of fall camp University of the Southwest head men's soccer coach
Robert Ssejjemba made note he intentionally scheduled a tough 2017 non-conference schedule to prepare for the Red River Athletic Conference portion of its season.
On Tuesday, the Mustangs encountered NCAA Division II University of Texas of the Permian Basin and fought to a 2-2 tie at Bob Moran Soccer Field.
"To be fair it was a scrappy game and we looked to be tired. We had some heavy legs from the long trip and quick turnaround (Saturday at Paul Quinn in Dallas)," Ssejjemba said. "Nonetheless I felt that we created chances. We put away and some and missed some. We can still take a point from this game and move to the next one. Overall, it was a game of moments and we had some good moments and some low moments."
At 20:34 in the first half
Ioan Muresan scored the first goal of the contest on a breakaway down the left sideline and beat the goalkeeper to the lower right side and the Mustangs went into the break with a 1-0 lead.
The Falcons (2-2-1) scored a pair of goals at 59:46 and 60:30 in the second half to take a 2-1 lead.
At 80:06
Jack Laurie drew a penalty and the junior proceeded to convert the penalty kick to tie the match at 2-2.
USW (2-2-1) outshot the Falcons 14-10, including a 9-1 margin in the first half.
Laurie also added a match-high eight shots, five of which were on goal. Muresan added three shots, two of which were on goal.
"Jack and Johnny did really well today," Ssejjemba said. "Jack played with a lot of heart and was able to score, while Johnny had a great breakaway goal in the first half. They had their chances and took advantage of them."
Allan Navarro,
Aram Sanchez and
Ian Kesterson each notched a shot.
As Ssejjemba noted, it was a physical game. There were 17 fouls, 10 called on the Falcons and seven against the Mustangs.
The Mustangs return to action Saturday and welcome Dallas Christian College to town. USW begins conference play September 28 and play host to Wiley at 3 p.m
