LAST SECOND GOAL SINKS BLINN MEN’S SOCCER AGAINST ANGELINA

Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information

At least until Nov. 11, five seconds will resonate in the minds of the Blinn College men’s soccer players.

With just five ticks remaining in the second overtime of Tuesday night’s Gulf South District Tournament semifinal at Rankin Field in Brenham, Texas, Angelina College buried the game-winning shot to earn a 1-0 victory and a berth in the tournament championship.

Angelina will now face top-ranked Tyler Junior College in the title match with an automatic bid in the NJCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship tournament at stake. 

The loss dropped eighth-ranked Blinn to 14-3-1 overall but did not necessarily end its season. 

The selection show for the national tournament will take place next Tuesday following the completion of the remaining region tournament across the NJCAA DI landscape. A victory over Angelina – or at the very least a penalty-kick shootout – would have almost certainly granted Blinn its first bid for the national tournament. The Bucs will instead play the waiting game as they look to secure one of the tournament’s four at-large bids.

“For almost 110 minutes, there was nothing between the teams this evening, and so it’s tough to lose with mere seconds left,” Blinn head coach Michael McBride said. “However, the way the players carried themselves at the end spoke volumes about their character. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

The teams went toe-to-toe for the 90-minute regulation, and while both the Bucs and Roadrunners had their chances, neither team could break through.

It took an impressive finish from Roadrunners freshman forward Jhosua Jory, who fielded a pass off his chest before slicing the deflection past a diving LeMaster, to bring the match to an end in the second 10-minute OT period.

Blinn finished with 15 shots to Angelina’s 12, while sophomore goalkeeper Noah LeMaster made five saves for the Bucs.

Blinn earned a 7-3 edge in corner kicks.

The Bucs won their first Region 14 South division title this season after tying a team record with 14 wins while posting a program-best 10-4 mark in region matches. They also earned one of two No. 1 seeds in the district tournament.

“This is a special group of young men, and together they’ve toppled records and achieved new landmarks for this program,” McBride said. “I truly hope they have done enough over the entirety of the season to earn an opportunity to extend it just a little more.”