TEXARKANA, TX---Heading into the start of the 2nd half, the Mustangs were in a position that they were unfortunately far too familiar with this season; being down 2-0. But Saturday night under the lights in Texarakana, the Mustangs fortune would change and they were finally on the right side of history. The Mustangs scored 3 unanswered goals in the 2nd half to defeat the Texarkana Eagles on their Senior Night. 

"Going into this game we had talk to the boys about how important this game was for us if we wanted any hope in tournament play. Texarkana came out strong in the first half. It was their Senior Night so they were ready to play as well. We both are in the hunt for a playoff spot. I knew Texarkana was going to be a tough team and were going to put a battle. They went up 2-0 in the first half so I had to make an adjustment if we wanted any hope. I switched up the formation in the midfield and we pressed them and were able to find an early goal from Khalid Abdulkhalik. Which gave us a lot of hope." said Head Coach Edgar Negrete. 

It took only 1 minute and 24 seconds for those changes to bring the Mustangs the result they were looking for. Khalid Abdulkhalik scored off which cut the deficit to 2-1 early in the 2nd half. 13 minutes later the Mustangs would tie the game up on a goal by Matthew Lopez. The Freshman from Victorville, CA picked the right spot to score his first career collegiate goal for the Mustangs. "Once we tied it up 2-2 I know this game was ours. The boys went out there and played for each other to try and make a comeback. We got a free kick with about 7 minutes to go and Antonio Menendez hits the free kick which gave us the 3-2 lead. Towards the end of the game Caleb made an amazing safe to keep us ahead of the game." added Coach Negrete. Antonio Menendez gave the Mustangs the lead with 5 minutes to go in the game on a beautiful free kick.


Head Coach Edgar Negrete was very happy after the come from behind win. "I am very happy. I was proud by the team effort we put today. It's an amazing feeling coming back on a team like Texarkana. Gerardo Tenorio made a huge impact for us and played an amazing game. I believe he was the man of the match he did everything behind the scenes to make sure he gave us chances to score. He was a very impacted player for us today. Overall this was by far one of the games that showed if we play together and put the same effort, everything is possible."

The Mustangs are now 3-4 in conference which puts them tied for 6th in the conference. USW travels to Louisiana next week to take on the 3rd and 4th place LSU-Shreveport and LSU-Alexandria squads.