Johnathan Peña
Sports Editor
Texas A&M University-San Antonio men’s and women’s soccer programs enter their fourth season of play seeking a championship run in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Red River Athletic Conference.
The Jaguars have not missed a playoff entry since their 2022 and 2023 seasons and hope to continue their success in the 2024 season.
A&M-San Antonio women’s soccer kicked off with a home opener Sept. 13 against Nelson University Lions, formally known as Southern Assemblies of God University, on A&M-San Antonio’s soccer field.
The Jaguars women’s soccer team entered the season with new face and head coach Tim Moody. Moody is tied to a successful coaching career at Roger Williams University Hawks, where he coached 12 seasons and competed in the NCAA Division III program in New England.
In Moody’s tenure with Roger Williams University, the Hawks 2023 season women’s soccer team posted a 10-7-4 record, going 5-1-2 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with five NCAA Division III tournament appearances and making it to the Sweet 16 in 2014.
Moody brought his upstate experience and English football tactics to A&M-San Antonio’s women’s soccer team for the 2024 season.
“I want them to be a sponge and take things in,” Moody said. “I will help them grow and see the game differently.”
Moody emphasized there’s more than one way to play the game and said he wants to work with A&M-San Antonio’s players to find what works best for them.
“There’s a lot of ways to play the game, and not really a wrong way to play–it’s about what works for the players,” Moody said. “It’s all about transferring all the things we learn from practice into game situations to open up their vision of the game.”
Lady Jaguars fiery start ends in loss
The women’s soccer game kicked off with left forward Skylar Parker and left wing midfielder Jasmin Dominguez kicking off the pitch to midfielder Avry Scott and resetting the play by crossing the ball back toward the goalkeeper.
Dominguez started out hot against the Lions, essentially giving the Jaguars a boost of momentum to push toward the Lion’s goalkeeper in the first half.
The first half was a battle of the goalkeepers as the Jaguars goalkeeper Maram Abduljaber saved six goals against the Lions. The Lion’s goalkeeper made three saves on the goal.
Abduljaber had 11 saves overall when the game ended with a Jaguars loss of 0-2 to the Nelson University Lions.
Senior outside back defender Ivelyn Jimenez was confident in the Jaguars’ defense throughout the game as they helped Abduljaber with five team saves.
“We were fired up and we did pretty solid, especially with the new coach, ” Jimenez said. “Especially Maram, throwing her body out there even with this heat too. Mackenzie went all the way. Unfortunately, she did get injured but hopefully we get her back soon.”
Mackenzie Stewart is a defender.
Redemption from Friday’s game is important to sophomore winger midfielder Miya Motayne, especially as the Jaguars enter their conference game against Texas A&M University-Texarkana at 1 p.m. Sept.19 at the A&M-Texarkana soccer field.
“We have to match the other team’s level,” Motayne said. “I want our team to work together to get the right opportunity to get a shot. When the other team’s morale is high when they score, we still think it’s 0-0 and keep our head clear.”
Jaguar men frustrated in draw against Nelson Lions
A&M-San Antonio men’s soccer team also seeks to be one of the top contenders of the Red River Athletic Conference in the NAIA.
The men’s program is coming off a back-to-back playoff appearance under the direction of head coach Robert Jaramillo and assistant head coach Norberto Lira.
Coming in with one of their “best” recruitment classes since the program started in 2020, the men are seeking to become one of the top championship contenders against the top schools in the Red River Athletic Conference.
“We did a lot of scouting over the summer with the incoming freshman and picked up some talented transfers from around the state, like Ronald Aguilar from the University of Texas at Tyler,” Jaramillo said in a Sept. 4 interview.
The men’s soccer game kicked off at 3:30 p.m. with an offensive push toward the goal. The Lions could not keep up with the Jaguars’ momentum on their side of the field.
The Jaguars scored within the first three minutes.
Junior forward Ronald Aguilar, sophomore right-wing midfielder Christian Guerrero and sophomore center midfielder Jacob Olivares all had their shot on goal against the Lions..
Guerrero kicked the ball toward the goal, but the Lion’s defense was there to intervene: Olivares came down the middle field to recover the ball from Guerrero and scored past the Lion’s goalkeeper.
The Jaguar men’s momentum only grew from there.
The men scored again against the Lions in the first ten minutes and boosted the team’s morale as they held the Lions back during the first half.
“We started well with a high press, and it worked out. But we got too comfortable, and that’s what affected us in the second half,” Guerrero said.
Later in the second half, the men’s soccer team, fatigued, couldn’t keep up with the Lions’ offensive run, and the Lions scored two goals.
“We played the way we were supposed to and got too comfortable in the beginning, and we just got fatigued,” Olivares said. “We stayed the same and we saw that they scored two goals and we didn’t do anything to fix it.”
The men’s soccer team tied against the Lions 2-2 but seeks a win next week against the A&M-Texarkana Eagles, a conference contender, at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at the A&M-Texarkana soccer field.
