Utah Tech men's soccer drew with UT Rio Grande Valley 1-1 on Sunday afternoon at Greater Zion Stadium.
The first shot of the game resulted in a goal for the visitors. Vaquero junior Kimito Fritz scored on the right side of the goal with an assist by junior Sota Matsua to give UTRGV a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute.
Redshirt junior
Ethan Bell challenged Vaquero goalkeeper Fernando Carreon in the 15th minute with a shot to the left but the goalie saved it.
Sophomore
Samir Cuevas leveled the match at 1-1 when a Vaquero defender mishit the ball right to the waiting Cuevas who buried a shot to the bottom-left corner of the goal in the 21st minute.
Bell got another shot on target in the 27th minute, this time to the right but Carreon stopped him again.
Carreon earned his third save of the match in the 33rd minute after another promising attack by Cuevas was stopped on the right side of the net.
UT goalkeeper
Stockton Short picked up his first save on a high shot on goal in the 36th minute.
UTRGV went down a man after junior Ricardo Joasilus was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a foul in the 39th minute.
After the break, the Vaqueros were content to park the bus and go all in on defending to try and keep the match tied. Bell put his third shot on goal in the 54th minute, making Carreon stop him with a high save in the center of the net.
On a UTRGV counterattack in the 56th minute, the Trailblazers notched a team save with a couple of key blocks in the box. Short notched his second save in the 58th minute with a stop down the middle and again UT earned a team save in the 59th minute with a near goal line clearance.
Sophomore
Manu Monserrat tried a long shot in the 64th minute that Carreon saved down the middle. Monserrat launched another shot in the 74th minute that missed high and right.
Short stood in the way of shots on target in the 74th, 78th and 79th minutes of play to keep the match level. He finished with five saves in the match.
Cuevas missed just wide left with a shot in the 82nd minute then put up the Trailblazers' last shot on goal in the 85th minute that was saved down the middle.
Utah Tech (2-8-4, 1-3-2 WAC) outshot UTRGV 18-14, but the Vaqueros held the edge in shots on goal, 8-7. UT Rio Grande Valley (3-6-3, 1-2-2 WAC) committed more fouls, 18-16, and were tabbed with the only three offsides offenses in the game. UT finished with seven saves to the Vaqueros' six.
The Trailblazers next visit Air Force for a match on Thursday, Oct. 24. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. and the contest will be streamed on ESPN+.
