Men’s soccer seeks to book spot in conference tourney in final week of season

The job is simple this week for the UHV men's soccer team.

Win, and the Jaguars are into the Red River Athletic Conference tournament for a 10^th consecutive season.

UHV (7-5-2, 5-5-1) first hosts Our Lady of the Lake at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday before traveling to Texas A&M-San Antonio for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday. The Jaguars just need one win from the two matches to get back into the conference tournament, where they've won the tournament title three times.

"We're ready to make a push," said senior center back Matt Sturgeon. "We're coming off a win (4-1 vs. North American) and it was a good win. We played hard and we played for each other. I think in the upcoming games, we're really going to show our character and how we can perform under adversity and pressure. It's just one game at a time."

In Saturday's win over the Stallions, UHV saw seniors Osiel Robledo, Carlos Quinones and Diby Kouassi, and sophomore Einar Rolfsen find the back of the net. It was the first goals of the year for Quinones and Kouassi.

Heading into the home stretch, head coach Adrian Rigby hopes the team leans on the veteran leadership from those seniors.

"We have some good leadership on the team," Rigby said. "I think we're really focusing on one game at a time. We wanted to make it where it's something we can control."

UHV will look to show why it has one of the best offenses in the conference, averaging 2.5 goals per game and a total of 103 points (goals+assists), both marks which rank third in the conference. Kouassi ranks third in assists in the RRAC.

The Jaguars have gotten goals from 16 different players while 17 have contributed on goals.

"It's always a good feeling to help the team and being decisive right now," Kouassi said. "It's good to have different people scoring to show we have different options. It's good to be able to count on everybody."

But defensive play has been strong recently for UHV, though.

Tyler Kaeppeli ranks second in save percentage (.776) while Eric Thust leads the conference in fewest goals allowed (6) and ranks fifth in goals allowed average (1.17).

Senior Adam Thompson has also been asked to play in the back the last few games, adding a senior presence with him and Sturgeon.

"It's reinforced our defense," Sturgeon said. "He's a senior, as well, so he know how good communication has to be at the back and he's been around the defense before playing right back. He's a good player, deserves to be playing and has helped us a lot."

Thursday will be the 18^th meeting all-time between UHV and the Saints, with the series even at 8-8-2, but the Jaguars boasting a 5-2-2 edge.

Ten of the matches in the all-time series have either been draws or decided by one goal on the field.

"I've known their coach (Shane Hurley) a long time," Rigby said. "He gets the most out of his guys. OLLU and UHV games have always been competitive and tough."

UHV boasts a 2-0-1 record against A&M-San Antonio after a 2-1 win last year in which Thompson scored the game-winning goal.