BLINN MEN’S SOCCER SENDS PARIS PACKING WITH REGION XIV SHUTOUT WIN
Buccaneers set for first-round playoff tilt Friday
The Blinn College men’s soccer team didn’t necessarily need Tuesday’s Region XIV match to end up in the win column.
But with a chance to build momentum ahead of their first-round playoff game, they put it there, anyway.
After tying Paris earlier this season, the Buccaneers defeated the visiting Dragons decisively with a 2-0 shutout victory at Rankin Field inside Hohlt Park in Brenham.
Blinn (11-6-2, 7-6-1 Region XIV) had already clinched a playoff berth ahead of Tuesday’s match, but the win sets up the Buccaneers nicely ahead of their NJCAA Gulf South District Tournament matchup against No. 12 LSU-Eunice at 6 p.m. Friday.
“They kept a clean sheet, which is really nice,” third-year Blinn head coach Michael McBride said. “Finishing (the regular season) on a win with a clean sheet is really important to us.
“It was a really good and productive day … we managed to get everybody in the game, and a couple of sophomore-scored goals, which was appropriate for sophomore day, which was good.”
Trey Gage broke up a scoreless stalemate with a goal in the 54th minute, assisted by Kamille Kum and Keegan Woolley. In the 66th minute Israel Macias Martinez scored on a penalty kick to give the Buccaneers some breathing room. The two goals were the first of the season for both Gage and Martinez.
Blinn out-shot Paris (3-14-1, 3-10-1) 23-12.
Buccaneer goalkeeper Kevin Pena made seven saves for the shutout.
The 11 victories are now a program record, topping the 10 wins Blinn posted last season.
The Buccaneers and Dragons played to a much different result after the two teams played to a 3-3 double-overtime tie on Sept. 18 at Paris. This time around, Paris needed a victory to punch its own playoff ticket, but the Bucs sent the Dragons home for the season.
Story Courtesy of:
Joe Alberico
Blinn Sports Information Specialist