With two weeks remaining in the regular season, both Angelina College soccer teams are heading into a meat grinder of a conference schedule – with very little margin for error.
The grind kicks off on Saturday, with both AC teams hosting Northeast Texas Community College.
The Lady Roadrunners (8-4, 4-3), third in conference play, hold a single-game lead over Saturday’s opponent. AC’s ladies have won three straight, beating Jacksonville 10-0, Mississippi Gulf Coast 5-0 (Gabriel Bradford with two goals, and Stefany Lopez, Italli Suarez and Daisy de Boer with one each) and Pearl River College by a 2-1 score, with Lopez and de Boer accounting for the Lady ‘Runner scoring.
NTCC’s Lady Eagles are 6-5, 3-4 on the season, having lost their past two games. Jennifer Paz leads her team with 12 goals.
Back on Sept. 8, the Lady ‘Runners took a 3-1 win over the Lady Eagles in Mount Pleasant.
The Roadrunners have also put together a three-game winning streak, dispatching Jacksonville 8-2 and taking a 9-4 win over Mississippi Gulf Coast and a 7-0 win over Pearl River, with Othonn Ruy notching two goals and Jesus Cerda, Fernando Marquez, Brad Lowes, Dadwin Hernandez and Chris Mendez adding one each.
Cerda and Ruy lead the Roadrunners in scoring with seven goals each. Ruy’s six assists also lead the team, giving him 20 points for the season.
The Eagles of NTCC are lodged in second place in the conference standings, having won three straight to build a 10-2-1, 7-2 record. In the previous meeting between the Roadrunners and Eagles in Mount Pleasant, NTCC pulled out a 3-0 win.
For the ‘Runners to make the post season for the first time in program history, they’ll have to continue their recent hot streak. After struggling early in the year, the team has come together well, outscoring opponents 24-6 over the past three games.
Saturday’s action kicks off with the Lady Roadrunners at 1 p.m., with the men following at 3 p.m.
On Monday, AC’s teams will host Paris College in a women/men doubleheader starting at 5 p.m.
All games will take place at Jase Magers Field in Lufkin.
Gary Stallard’s e-mail address is gstallard@angelina.edu.
