Playing their second matches in a 24-hour period – and in triple-digit heat indices on both days – Angelina College’s soccer teams showed no signs of fatigue in earning a pair of wins on Sunday.

The Roadrunner women got a late second-half goal from Bety Hernandez to secure a 2-1 win over Northeast Community College of Nebraska, and the men got four goals from four different players in shutting out the Hawks 4-0 at Jase Magers Field in Lufkin.

AC’s women trailed 1-0 in the first half, despite numerous near misses, until Morgan Winthrop fought her way to Daisy de Boer’s free kick in the box and headed home the equalizer. The Roadrunner women stiffened on defense, with keeper Eva Phillips making several saves along with defender Savannah Keziah, keeping the match equal until Hernandez chased down de Boer’s deflected corner kick and put the ball high in the net for the eventual game winner.

The Roadrunner men shook off the frustration of Saturday’s loss, a match in which AC strikers were confounded with balls banging off the uprights and crossbars. On Sunday, the ‘Runners used precise passing to set up all four goals: Matheu Gayle opened the scoring with a powerful drive off a feed from teammate Mohammed Aljaif just eight minutes into the match. Taurayi Tugwete got an assist from Alex Rubio in the 31st minute to give AC a 2-0 lead at the half.

The Roadrunners kept up the pressure in the second half. Aljaif took a perfect cross from Scott Gray to knock home his team’s third goal, and Bryan Nunez capped the scoring on a long goal off a free kick in the 87th minute.

AC keeper Shane Wallace and the Roadrunners’ back line helped keep the Hawks scoreless for the full 90 minutes.

Both will take a few needed days off before resuming conference play on Friday in a doubleheader at Jacksonville College. The Roadrunner women (2-1, 1-0) kick off at 5 p.m., and the men (1-2, 0-1) follow at 7 p.m.

The e-mail address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.

This past Friday’s season-opening matches didn’t lead to marks in the “Win” columns for either of the Angelina College soccer teams. The Roadrunner women fell 5-1 and the men 3-0 to a pair of defending national champion squads from Richland College.

Nevertheless, head coach Freddy Drago has already moved past those games, focusing on the positives and on this weekend’s opponents. AC’s teams both open conference play on Saturday against Blinn College before hosting another non-conference foe, Northeast Community College (Nebraska) on Sunday.

Drago said he and his staff spent this week using Friday’s losses to make the necessary adjustments for the upcoming back-to-back doubleheaders.

“We saw we can be very competitive,” Drago said. “I thought both our teams played very well, but both just ran out of gas in the second half. That’s the overall take from those matches. We were right there with both those teams. The women were even at 1-1 at the half, and the men were in a scoreless draw at the half of their game. It was a heck of a first half for both teams.

“Moving forward from those games, we look at the goals we allowed in the second half, and we look at some of our missed opportunities from the first half when we just couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net. We’ll fine-tune those elements.”

From the first week, Drago has stressed the importance of getting his players more time to work together to build a more cohesive unit. That remains the focus of this week’s preparation.

“Mostly, and we discussed this last week, it’s a matter of getting our players more playing time together,” Drago said. “Friday was the first time facing a different opponent. Before that, all our players had done was play against each other. This year, instead of scheduling a scrimmage in the middle of the week, we used those three days as part of a full week of training and work.

“Nobody likes to lose the season’s first match, but there were plenty of positives for us to take away. Overall, we were pleased with where we are and where we think we’ll be able to go moving forward.”

Blinn’s men lost to the same Richland College team by a 5-1 score on Sunday, while the women lost 3-0 to the Thunderducks.

“Saturday’s games, it doesn’t matter what we do or don’t know about Blinn,” Drago said. “It’s the first conference game, and we’ve got to go out and get that ‘W’ regardless of how our opponent looks. That’s the mentality our teams have had all week, and that’s how our teams have been preparing.”

Saturday’s matches kick off with the women at 5 p.m., while the men will follow at 7 p.m. Sunday, the teams again start with the women at 5 p.m. and the men at 7 p.m. All games will take place at Jase Magers Field in Lufkin.

The e-mail address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.

From the very first days of summer practice, Angelina College head soccer coach Freddy Drago had one word on his mind: Cohesion.

With just two weeks to prepare for Friday’s season opener against Richland College – both the Thunderduck men and women won NJCAA Division III national championships in 2018 – Drago knew his Roadrunner women and men had talent at their disposal. It was just a matter of getting the squads accustomed to playing together.

Friday’s results showed both AC teams still have a little work to do.

Richland’s teams earned a pair of wins, with the Lady Thunderducks taking a 5-1 win and the men shutting out the Roadrunners 3-0 at Jase Magers Field in Lufkin.

Richland’s Olivia Okoye scored a hat trick to help beat the Roadrunner women, scoring in the 31st, 61st and 70th minutes. Teammates Lauren Ramon and Rachel Rios added goals in the match’s final 17 minutes.

AC’s Bety Hernandez scored the Roadrunner women’s lone goal, taking a corner kick from Lucy Coppin and finding the net in the 24th minute.

The Roadrunner men played the ‘Ducks to a scoreless draw over the first 45 minutes thanks to superb work from AC goalkeeper Sven Van den Oever, who turned in several spectacular saves.

The ‘Ducks broke through in the second half, scoring all three goals in a 10-minute span and holding off every Roadrunner charge.

Both the Roadrunner women and men are back in action at home on both Saturday and Sunday. AC’s teams will face Blinn College in the conference opener starting at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Sunday’s doubleheader against Northeast Community College (Nebraska) will also start at 3 p.m.

The e-mail address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.

Angelina College’s soccer program has only been around for three years, but in that time both the women’s and men’s teams have made progress. Baby steps are great for young teams.

In 2018, however, the program saw considerably bigger strides, with the Roadrunner women achieving their first-ever national ranking – and qualifying for the conference tournament for the third consecutive season – while the men established a new mark for wins in a season.

Heading into his fourth year at the helm of both teams, Freddy Drago is optimistic his teams can make leaps over baby steps in 2019.

“To be honest, we were pleasantly surprised at our women’s team last year,” Drago said during a recent practice. “We didn’t expect a team so young (nine freshmen) to make such a big jump in just the program’s third year. That was huge. With this year’s team, anything short of challenging for a conference tournament berth is going to be disappointing, especially with the core of players we have returning.

“As for the men, our conference is so tough, by far one of the toughest junior college conferences in the entire country. Friday’s first game will tell us quite a bit. We can measure ourselves from there. If things go right, based on pure talent, the men should be able to make a big jump as well.”

Both teams kick off the regular season Friday at home against Richland College, the defending NJCAA Division III national champions. Those matches will be the perfect measurements for just how ready his squads are for the rigors of play in a brutal conference.

Drago said his men’s team, “one of the most talented overall I’ve ever coached”, got a shot in the arm with an influx of international players. The 2018 season was the first in which the programs were allowed to recruit and sign international players, and Drago said their inclusion helps lift the skill levels for everyone involved.

“The training these kids have had prior to getting here to Angelina College really stands out,” Drago said. “Those players’ training back home is so far advanced from what local players are able to get over here in the United States. A lot of these guys here now have trained at professional academies.

“Their fundamentals, their overall skills and all the other aspects of the game they bring with them is at such a high level, meaning the talent level of our roster is at a higher level this year.”

Those skill levels translate into an entirely different style of play, Drago said. “Touches. The fewer touches, the better,” Drago explained. “We want to have the ability required to get rid of the ball quicker, and keep the flow moving. These guys are used to that style of game, and they’re going to help our local guys tremendously.

“The overall technique these guys have is incredible. We don’t have to spend practice time teaching technique. These guys already have it. We can spend more time now on tactics rather than techniques.”

On the women’s side, the team is returning several key players from last year’s roster, along with adding some talented incoming freshmen. For those reasons alone, Drago expects this group to keep up its own expectations.

“On this year’s (women’s) roster, we have a great mix of new faces and returning players,” Drago said. “I’d say it’s about 50/50. We identified a couple of holes from last year, and we’ve gotten some good players to come in and fill those spots. We’re really excited about what we’ve got coming up for these ladies.”

Despite losing two key players who combined for more than 30 goals between them, Drago is confident the new crew will thrive despite a change in its attack.

“We’ll have a different style of play this year for sure,” Drago said. “With those two, we were able to play a fast-paced, long-ball style that fit their specific skills. Now, we’ll be able to play more of a possession-based style. The newer players may not have the same style of play, but we believe they’ll be just as effective.

“Our midfield is very, very solid. We have Daisy de Boer and Jasmin Keller returning. Bety Hernandez was a phenomenal defender last season, but we’re going to use her in a more offensive role now. She can really take o players one-on-one.”

Both the excitement and expectations are running high heading into the new season, but Drago wants to temper some of those expectations – at least for now, this first week of the season.

“As long as there’s constant progression, I’m OK,” Drago said. “We just don’t want to lose any of the progress we’ve gained over our first three years.”

Friday’s matches kick off with the Roadrunner women at 5 p.m. The men follow at 7 p.m. Both games will take place at Jase Magers Field on the campus of Lufkin High School.

The e-mail address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.