Soccer teams come up short in Thursday night play

Union University men’s and women’s soccer faced off against Ouachita Baptist and the University of West Georgia on Thursday, Oct. 16.

The men’s soccer team traveled to Arkadelphia, Arkansas to play Ouachita Baptist University Thursday night. The outcome of the game was not in the favor of the Bulldogs as the Ouachita Baptist Tigers won 2-1.

Ouachita scored the first goal at the 15^th minute and again at the 26^th minute of the game. The first half of the game ended with the Bulldogs down 2-0.

The Bulldogs finally got on the scoreboard in the 88^th minute. Rodrigo Zanta, sophomore exercise science major and midfielder on the team, scored the only goal for the Bulldogs. Despite the lateness of the game, Union tried to even the score when Clayton Martin, junior sports management major and midfielder, attempted a shot that hit the crossbar with only 35 seconds left to play.

Andrew Blackard, senior sports management major, said, “The other team scored two early goals in the first half and despite valiant efforts to come back, we just barely fell short.”

On the defensive side, Matt Kesler, junior philosophy major and goalie, had five saves for Union.

Back in Jackson, Tennessee the Lady Bulldog’s soccer team competed against the University of West Georgia.

The match resulted in a 3-1 loss for the Lady Bulldogs, leaving them to fall 2-8 in regular season play.

The West Georgia Wolves scored twice in a row in the 35^th minute of the game. The Wolves scored again into an open goal in the 60^th minute.

Union made it on the scoreboard in the 74^th minute of the game. Kayleigh Patterson, sophomore public relations major and midfielder, scored a goal off of a pass from senior midfielder, Kelsey Graeter, a broadcast journalism major.

Forwards, Eliza Clark, senior athletic training major, and Kelsey Wilkes, sophomore business major, both had four attempts on goal for the night.

“We played strong last night against a good team,” said Clarke. “Despite the injuries of several of our starters, our team came out strong and controlled the game.”