Shreveport – The Centenary men's soccer team fell, 3-1, in its regular-season finale on Sunday to the Southwestern Pirates in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference match at Mayo Field.
The Gents finish their season at 8-8 overall and 3-6 in SCAC play. Southwestern improved to 10-6-2 overall and 4-4-1 in SCAC play.
Southwestern took a 1-0 lead 19 minutes into the match as Fernando Garduno-Jar scored off an assist from teammate Ashton Bynum. The Pirates extended the lead to 2-0 with just under 10 minutes left before halftime as Bynum scored on a penalty kick following a Gents foul in the box.
The Pirates went up 3-0 nine minutes into the second half as Michael Glode scored an unassisted goal. Freshman midfielder Andres Bautista (Houston, Texas) made the most of his opportunity in the 55th minute as he scored on a penalty kick of his own after being fouled near the goal, shooting a laser past Southwestern keeper Jack Viles for the lone Centenary goal of the match.
Centenary took 19 shots in the match to 14 for the Pirates and held a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks. 25 total fouls were called in the match along with four yellow cards. Gents' goalkeeper Sami Borchalli, a sophomore from Lafayette, La., made four saves while Viles stopped six for Southwestern. Borchalli leads the SCAC in saves and saves per game this season and ranks second in save percentage, and is tied for first in shutouts
The Gents roster featured 17 freshmen or sophomores along with five juniors and just four seniors so a strong core looks to return in 2020 for head coach Kyle Symcazk. Sophomore midfielder Wil Ecobar (Cypress, Texas) led the team this season with 10 goals and 20 points. Bautista added six goals and three assists, and senior Scott Halper (Franklin Lakes, N.J.) and freshman Nick Garcia (Carrollton, Texas) combined for seven goals. Junior midfielder Greg Petreas (Denton, Texas) collected a team-best four assists. Borchalli earned four shutouts and made 94 saves. Escobar is second or tied for second in the conference in goals, goals per game, and game-winning goals this season.
The Gents posted five shutouts during the season and went 7-3 at home. Centenary won the second-most games in a single season in the division III era this season. The Maroon and White finished eighth in the SCAC standings, just missing a conference tournament berth and finished just behind Dallas (3-5-1), and Austin College (3-5). Centenary handed regular-season champion Colorado College its only loss in SCAC play this season as the Gents blanked the Tigers, 2-0, at Mayo Field on Oct. 6.
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