Shreveport- The Centenary men's soccer team defeated the University of Dallas Crusaders, 1-0, in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference match on Sunday evening at Mayo Field.
The Gents (1-1-1) won for the eighth time in their last 13 games dating back to the beginning of last season and recorded their sixth home shutout during that span. Centenary was an impressive 7-3 at home last season and posted five shutouts. In fact, the Maroon and White blanked their first four opponents of the season which included a 1-0 shutout over Dallas on Sept. 29, 2019. The Crusaders fell to 1-2 with Sunday's loss.
Sophomore midfielder Andres Bautista (Houston, Texas) scored the Gents' goal, his first of the season, and seventh of his young career in the 82nd minute with the assist going to fellow sophomore Xavier Noyola-Ramirez (College Station, Texas), the first of his career. Bautista rifled the ball past Dallas goalkeeper Goncalo Pernas and into the back of the net to set off a joyous celebration on the home bench. Pernas played all 90 minutes and made seven saves.
The Gents dominated the first half, maintaining possession on the Crusaders' side of the field for the majority of the opening 45 minutes and defending their own goal at the same time. Centenary took 11 total shots in the first half and allowed just six. The Gents finished with a 27-12 advantage for the match. The game was hard-fought and aggressively played as the teams combined for 46 fouls and seven yellow cards.
Gents' junior goalkeeper Sami Borchalli (Lafayette, La.) played all 90 minutes and was superb in goal as has been the case throughout his career. He made four saves and now has 227 in his career to rank second all-time in program history in the division III (2011-present) era. Borchalli, who earned Honorable Mention all-conference honors last season, also recorded his sixth-career shutout which ranks third. Borchalli was aided by his outstanding back line of the likes of senior Shim Eliya (Fort Worth, Texas), junior Diego Hernandez (Carrollton, Texas), sophomore Quentin Helm (Denton, Texas), and Noyola-Ramirez.
Centenary will remain at home next weekend to face Austin College on Saturday, March 13 at 7 p.m. The Gents then hit the road for three matches in a row beginning with a contest at St. Thomas on March 20 followed by matches at Colorado College (March 27) and Southwestern on April 3.
The Gents face Schreiner on April 10 for Senior Day in their home finale and then finish the regular season at Texas Lutheran on April 17. Centenary then will serve as host for the 2021 SCAC Men's Soccer Championship on April 23 and 25 at Mayo Field.
A link to the Gents' complete schedule can be found here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/msoc/2020-21/schedule.
Live stats and live video are available for all home matches.
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