BROWNWOOD, TEXAS – A near statistical draw Saturday, Oct. 15, was separated by an early penalty kick goal.

Howard Payne University's Daniel Hernandez was fouled deep in the War Hawks' end of the foul, setting up a PK chance in the eighth minute of an American Southwest Conference battle at Citizens National Bank Soccer Park. He stepped up and fired a strike into the back of the net for a 1-0 Yellow Jackets lead that would stand for the remaining 82 minutes.

The two sides were tied in shots with nine each, while HPU had one more corner kick (4-3). Looking deeper into the box score, the difference came down to the stout play of home netminder Eduardo Flores. He knocked away six potential McMurry scoring attempts to keep a clean sheet over 90 minutes. Freshman Griffin Cardwell (Plano, Texas), the reigning ASC Defensive Player of the Week, notched two saves against three home-side shots on goal tries.

Head coach Marquis Muse's offense was led by freshman forward Armando Saldana (Wichita Falls, Texas), senior forward Andres Martinez (Horizon City, Texas), and sophomore midfielder Dylan Caudle (San Angelo, Texas). The trio each turned in two-or-more total shot tries.

McMurry (5-6-2 overall, 3-2 ASC) travels to Belton, Texas, on Thursday, October 20. Kick off versus the University of Mary-Hardin-Baylor is at 7:30 p.m.