by Sean Ditmore
Sports Information Intern
Wayland's inaugural men's soccer match held at Hilliard Field proved to be an exciting, but ultimately disappointing affair as the visiting squad from McMurry University escaped with the 1-0 victory. The defeat drops the Pioneers to 0-4 for the season.
The deciding goal was scored when McMurry's Humberto Sepulveda got behind the Pioneer defense with less than a minute to play before the halftime break.
The Pioneers applied intense pressure on the McMurry defense throughout the second half and had countless close calls, but came up short in trying to answer the visitor's lone score.
The match was called tightly with six yellow cards and one red card handed out by the referees. McMurry was forced to play a man short for the last half of the final period.
Wayland head soccer coach Shiloh Posey tried to sum up the heart-wrenching defeat.
"It was one of those matches that you wish you could fix for the team," Posey said. "They were playin' their hearts out."
The Pioneers actually out-shot McMurry 20-16 during the match, but both sides finished with eight shots on goal. John Piperis led the Pioneers with four shots, while Gerardo Espinoza put all three of his attempts on goal.
The game marks a second narrow defeat for the Pioneers. Earlier in the season they dropped a 2-1 decision in double overtime to Texas Wesleyan.
As the Pioneers look for that first victory in program history, Coach Posey believes his team is playing with the right mentality.
"Attitudes are good," Posey said. "It takes a total team effort."
The Pioneers' next match will be at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin on Tuesday, September 8th at 5:00 p.m. Their next home match will be September 11th at 4:00 p.m. against Howard Payne University.
