SHERMAN, Texas – An appearance in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference men's soccer championship match was on the line for Southwestern University, but it was the Celts from the University of St. Thomas that would find themselves advancing after a 3-1 victory.
Southwestern ends its season with an 8-6-2 record after having performed exceptionally well in the SCAC regular-season standings with a 6-2 record and 18 points for a second-place finish.
The Celts (13-1-3) had won the 2021 SCAC tournament title so the experienced they had from last year's tournament seemed to have spilled over into tonight's match as they jumped out to an early 1-0 lead just 7:56 into the contest.
Southwestern then had to essentially play from behind and force the aggression the rest of the way with the physical nature of play increasing as the clock kept winding down each half.
Both teams combined for 12 fouls with only one yellow card in the first half, but an additional 13 fouls were called in the second half as well as eight more cards including a second yellow on Southwestern's Luke Malone with less than two minutes left in the match.
St. Thomas used the aggressive play from the Pirates to sneak in another goal to go up 2-0 with 38:13 gone in the first half, but Jackson DeHaven would strike back quickly just 67 seconds later when he got a header on the ball off a deflection from Nathaniel Blake's pass.
Unfortunately for the Pirates, it was the only goal they'd score as the Celts added an insurance tally in the 72nd minute for the 3-1 margin of victory.
Southwestern was outshot 20-6 in total shots and 7-3 in shots on goal. St. Thomas also led the way in corner kicks 4-0, but Jack Viles was able to keep the Pirates in the match with the four total saves including three in the second half.