Freshman Mazi Rabiee scored on the final kick in the shootout to send the Comets to the American Southwest Conference championship game on Sunday.
Clarksville, Ark. – The University of Texas-Dallas advanced to the championship of the American Southwest Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament with a 1-1 (3-2 penalty kicks) shootout win over the University of Texas-Tyler Saturday at Hurie Field.
The second-seeded Comets (14-3-2 overall) relied on freshman Mazi Rabiee to provide the game winner in the shootout. The Arlington, Texas native, who was the last player to shoot in the final frame, found the back of the net past the outstretched hands of Patriots senior goalkeeper Geoff Sherman.
“All year long we’ve done things to come back to win,” said University of Texas-Dallas head coach Jack Peel. “We are excited about the win. It was hard, it was tough, but we are excited about it.”
UT Tyler (11-7-0) junior forward Michael Kendall scored the first goal of the game on a penalty kick in the 13th minute, giving the Patriots a 1-0 lead.
UT Dallas had several chances to score in the second half, but Sherman kept the Comets off the board until the 85th minute when sophomore defender Coleman Cochran found the back of the net. Cochran used a one touch volley to score on a free kick pass from junior midfielder Bruno Alonso to tie the game at 1-1.
“We did well with our offensive attacks today,” said Peel. “Coleman (Cochran) is a central defender and he just got in at the right time. I was glad he got it and tied it up.”
The Comets recorded 17 total shots, including 13 on target and were awarded eight corner kicks. The Patriots posted 19 total shots, including nine on goal. UT Tyler received six corner kicks.
Sophomore goalkeeper Jake Brandon recorded eight saves in net for the Comets.
“Jake (Brandon) is very athletic,” said Peel. “He had a great day today. He didn’t have to do too much during the course of the game, but he came up big in the shootout.”
UT Dallas will take on the top seed, Ozarks, in the championship Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The winner of the ASC championship will receive an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship.
Topics: Athletics