ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University's men's soccer team registered a signature win for the program by knocking off the No. 21-ranked team in NCAA Division III – the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor – by a 1-0 score at Wilford Moore Stadium. The victory upped the War Hawks' record to 7-5-2 overall and 4-3-2 in the American Southwest Conference, while the Cru lost for just the second time overall (12-2) and the first time (9-1) in ASC play.
With just two matches remaining, the win also assured the McMurry team of no worse than a .500 record. By reaching that plateau, the War Hawks also met the qualifying criteria for the team to participate in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Central Region tournament and vie for a spot at the NCCAA national championships. The last time that the War Hawks played in the NCCAA post-season was in 2012, when current head coach
Tyler Tarango was a senior All-American on the team and led McM to a sixth place NCCAA national finish.
Tarango had nothing but praise for the effort put forth by his team against the nationally-ranked UMHB squad.
"It was a great defensive team performance," Tarango said. "Every guy put his body on the line to block shots. We got the early lead and then cleaned up shop. It was a fantastic result against a very good nationally-ranked opponent."
McMurry stunned the Cru by tallying early and then making it stand up. Just 9:02 minutes into the match,
Jesus Sanchez and
Javi Mejia – both sophomores – teamed up for what would be the only score of the evening. Sanchez found Mejia with a perfect pass in front of the net and, when UMHB goalkeeper Bryce Eichorn stepped off his line, Mejia headed the ball over him and into the back of the net.
UMHB continued to attack, only to be rebuffed by to War Hawks defensive half. Goalkeeper
Alex Chavez had four saves in notching his seventh shutout of the season.
The Cru out-shot McMurry, 14-9, but each team put four attempts on-goal. McM's
Rafael Lara led all players with four shot attempts.
