Johnathan Peña
Sports Editor
Texas A&M University-San Antonio men’s and women’s soccer kicked off their home conference doubleheader weekend against the Jarvis Christian University Bulldogs on Sept. 26. The Jags then played the Texas College Steers on Sept. 28.
The Lady Jaguars picked up their confidence after a winless start to the season in their first conference home game of the 2024 season against the Bulldogs, forcing a competitive and physical game throughout the 90 minutes.
Head coach Tim Moody pointed out the key mistakes the Lady Jaguars made against the Bulldogs in the 4-4 outcome of their first conference home opener.
“We need to put teams away when we’re ahead, when you’re on top you need to score, and not make silly mistakes,” Moody said.
Lady Jaguars claw out first conference win
A&M-San Antonio Jaguar women’s soccer program recorded their first home win of the season, taking on Texas College Steers at A&M-San Antonio’s soccer field.
The tone was set within the first five minutes of the game as senior winger Kenia Bustos let off a shot resulting in a goal, assisted by sophomore left wing Ana Barragan.
Senior defender Jaci Vargas along with the rest of the Lady Jaguar defensive line completed a shutout to complement the team’s overwhelmingly offensive, in which they poured in seven goals.
The attacking style that Moody implemented for this matchup was essential to winning the game.
“We should not be running out of gas, we’re electric,” Moody said.
Maintaining the team’s core principles, as well as focusing on developing their team chemistry, was also key to gaining a win within this conference matchup.
“The things that we’ve been working on all season were still there, we’ve played well in all of our games this season,” Moody said. “It’s about us, not about the opposition; it’s about what we do.”
Sept. 28 was Senior Day for the Lady Jaguars, and they made it a day to remember for the seniors who have been with the program since 2021.
The final score was a 7-0 Lady Jaguars win.
The Lady Jaguars conference record is 1-2-1.
A&M-San Antonio men’s soccer play for each other
A&M-San Antonio men’s soccer program went toe to toe in their home conference doubleheader against the Jarvis Christian University Bulldogs on Sept. 26 and the Texas College Steers on Sept. 28.
The Jaguars played a physically fierce game against the Bulldogs with junior forward Ronald Aguilar as the scoring leader for the Jaguars to lead throughout the 90 minutes.
“The mentality has been the same in practice and the games,” Aguilar said. “Score and win no matter what…That is our mentality to win, win, win.”
Aguliar’s ability to put the ball in the net was a key component in helping the Jaguars win.
Aguilar scored a total of four goals in the doubleheader weekend
“This is what I work for, every day and every practice from three hours to four hours; that is what I’m here for,” Aguilar said.
Communication from Jaguar defender senior Junior Kpelgo and junior Eduardo Hernandez was another key contribution to not giving the Bulldogs an opening to score more goals.
“The thing is in this team we are like a family, so we act together, defend together, we attack together, and that’s a thing that’s going to take us a long way,” Kpelgo said.
The final score was a 2-1 Jaguars win.
The Texas College Steers battled the Jaguars’ aggression.
The Jaguars’ wings cut off crosses and connections from Steers trying to get a quick goal in the first half.
But the Steers defense could not hold their ground against Aguilar scoring not just one, but two goals in the first half with a six-minute difference between both goals.
First goal was at 26:50 and the second goal was at 32:01.
The third goal in the first half was from freshman right back Joey De La Torre, who scored his first collegiate goal for the Jaguars.
“Being aggressive and winning every ball, staying patient and waiting for the right moment,” De La Torre explained how he capitalized on the moment.
Head Coach Roberto Jaramillo talked about his men’s aggressiveness in keeping the game interesting and winning it for him.
“We are able to get over our problems, they play for each other, they played for me,” said Jaramillo. “I messed up the game today with the subs, it messes up the momentum for my guys.”
“Sometimes that aggressiveness is us trying to win the game instead of tying it,” Jaramillo said. “But it can backfire, so I think we just need to find that balance.”
The men secured the win against the Steers with a score of 4-2.
The Jaguar’s conference record is 3-1.
