The Pirates traveled to Richardson, Texas for a two-game weekend, playing the UT Dallas Comets on Friday and ending with the Hardin-Simmons Cowboys on Sunday. 

In their first matchup against the Comets, the Pirates started out strong, scoring in the first two minutes of the match to put Southwestern up 1-0. Sophomore forward Caleb Allen converted the lone goal for the Pirates off an assist from Skyler Frey. 

The Pirates held their lead till the 30' minute mark when the Comets scored the equalizer and the two teams were tied 1-1 going into halftime. The Comets were able to possess the ball very well coming out of halftime and scored with 60' minutes on the clock to put the score at 2-1. The Comets kept the ball away from the Pirates the rest of the second half and even if the Pirates did gain possession they were unable to maintain it against a relentless Comets team. 

Pirates Goalkeeper Jack Viles faced 13 shots from the Comets throughout the night as well as six corner kicks. Viles had six saves on eight shots on goal, doing his best to keep the Pirates in the game. While the Pirates had four shots in the second half and five shots on goal total, the Comet goalkeeping kept the Pirates out of the scoring column for the rest of the night, the final score staying at 2-1, Comets. 

In their second game in three days, the Pirates earned their first win of the 2022 season against the Hardin-Simmons Cowboys. 

The score column read 0-0 throughout the majority of the match but it was only a matter of time before the Pirates found the back of the net, Southwestern shot the ball 14 times throughout the course of the game putting constant pressure on the Cowboy's defense. 

In the 86' minute Sophomore midfielder Keegan Hardy scored the first goal of his career on an assist from fellow sophomore midfielder Michael Grimm. Both Hardy and Grimm have started 14 or more games for the Pirates and have each played in 21 games. Grimm recorded his first career assist in the first game of the season against Rowan University

The Pirate defense held tough during the course of the game, only allowing two shots on goal with Viles only needing two saves to pitch the shutout of the Cowboys. 

Men's Soccer will be on the road yet again next week, this time for one match versus SCAC conference member, University of  St. Thomas. Their game will take place on Friday, September 16th at 5:00 pm. 

Photo by Carlos Barron