KERRVILLE, Texas — The Southwestern University Pirates men's soccer team knocked in two late first-half goals and rode the momentum to a 4-0 victory over the Schreiner University Mountaineers.
With looming rain threatening to delay or cancel the day's match, it was a lightning quick strike out of a set piece with a little under eight minutes remaining in the first half that put the Pirates on the board.
On a free kick from midfield, goalie Alan Carr hit Luke Orren in perfect stride in front of the net. Orren's running header bounced off the inside of the left post, ricocheting to Luke Stanton, who put the rebound in from the right side for the first goal of the match and his second of the season.
A few minutes later, Orren was the beneficiary of a rebound, scoring after Andrew Hernandez's free kick rebounded off the post and found Orren hiding behind the wall.
"It was great to finally see a few goals that have been escaping us recently go in," Head Coach Dustin Norman said. "The first half started out slow with very few chances in the first 30 but then a flurry of set pieces saw us convert on a couple of opportunities."
Southwestern outshot Schreiner by an 8-6 margin in the first half with neither getting a corner kick before the break.
In the second half, the Pirates' backline managed to limit Schreiner's attack, holding the Mountaineers to just four shots to help Southwestern notch its seventh shutout victory of the season, including its sixth in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play.
The Pirates connected on two of their five shots in the second half, with Jake Swonke finding Austin Lovell for Lovell's first career goal and Andrew Hernandez scoring unassisted with less than two minutes remaining.
Southwestern produced 13 shots total with a 3-2 edge in corner kicks while Carr finished with four saves. With the win, the Pirates improve to 8-3-1 on the season and 6-2-1 in conference play.
"To be honest, we were thankful to get the game in," Norman said. "Considering the severe weather that passed, I was really happy with the focus the guys showed dealing with delays to travel and the start of the game."
The Pirates will continue conference play this weekend, hosting Johnson & Wales University on Friday, Oct. 12 at 5 p.m., and Colorado College on Sunday, Oct. 14 at 12 p.m.