'Roo Men's Soccer's Comeback Falls Short

SHERMAN, Texas - After falling behind 2-0 early in the second half, the Austin College men's soccer team tried to mount a late comeback but came up just short, falling 2-1 to East Texas Baptist in the team's season opener.

Austin College had a chance to square things late, but a last second effort went high of the goal as time expired to allow the Tigers to escape with the one goal win. The game had been a defensive battle in the opening half, with the two sides combining for just four shot attempts, but ETBU broke through in the first minute out of halftime when Isaiah Simien took advantage of a counterattack opportunity created by Garrett Garvin to make it a 1-0 game at the 45:57 mark.

East Texas Baptist would double its lead eight minutes later, when Joel Garcia put a free kick into the back of the net, and that's how things would stand until late in the match. Austin College drew a penalty kick in the 78th minute and Cesar Escobar was able to put one home to make it 2-1, but that's as close as the 'Roos would manage to get, falling short in the closing minutes despite a number of strong offensive opportunities.

Connor Tullis made three saves in goal for the 'Roos, while Tristan Whelchel also made three stops for ETBU.