An all-time season for UTRGV men’s soccer comes to a premature end in 0-1 defeat against No.6 Air Force in the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Conference Tournament Thursday evening in Las Vegas.
Coming into the tournament as the No. 2 seed, with a .800-win percentage on the season and senior forward William Akio earning the WAC Offensive Player of the Year award, the Vaqueros were looking to make a deep run and deliver the programs first title.
At the break, both the Vaqueros and the Falcons were evenly matched as each team was able to put up multiple shots (5-8) but Air Force were able to put more pressure on UTRGV junior goalkeeper Trevor Schneider with five attempts on goal.
After playing 110 minutes and earning a victory in PKs against No.3 San Jose State on Tuesday, the Falcons still had plenty of energy as they struck in the 50th minute on a counterattack with sophomore midfielder Quinn Matulis.
In a postgame news conference via Zoom, UTRGV Head Coach Bryheem Hancock explained that the early second half goal set the tone for the rest of the match as the team looked to keep their season alive.
“There are some things that we rushed in the second half, early, once we gave up the goal to try to just get it all back in the next few minutes,” Hancock said.
The Vaqueros fought till the end as they continued to challenge Falcons junior goalkeeper Kainoa Likewise with nine shots but only one attempt was on target.
The Falcons will now advance to the championship game to face undefeated and No.1 Grand Canyon University 3 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+ as the program seeks its first tournament crown.
For the Vaqueros, it is a bittersweet end to the season as Hancock recognized the sacrifices the team has made playing through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Guys away from their family for long period of times, the amount of testing, protocols and staying in the bubble, doing all those things that make it difficult just for a normal person but student-athlete its asking a lot and I thought they stuck to it all season,” Hancock said. “For that you want them to get a victory and get to a finals, so they get a taste of that.”
Despite having four seniors on the team this season, Hancock confirmed that goalkeeper Oliver Padilla, midfielder Bryce Box and forward Nicolas Blake will be using their fifth year of eligibility.
This means that the Vaqueros are currently set to only lose the team’s leading goal getter Akio as he seeks to take his talent to the next level.
Not giving Akio the winning sendoff he would have liked, Hancock thanked him for his dedication to the program.
“The biggest thing was telling him thank you for everything he’s given for this program, this university and this area,” Hancock said. “Helping the brand, [the] UTRGV brand in general.”
Hancock added that he is eager and excited to see Akio as he takes the next step in his journey.
“You look at some of the YouTube stuff he does, I told him he’s going to have another career outside of soccer,” Hancock said. “Just off of what he’s done on social media, he’s an intelligent person, he lights up a room, very personable, he’s going to be successful in soccer, he’s going to be successful outside of soccer. Whatever he puts his hands on, he is going to be successful.”
After completing his first season at the helm with an inherited squad from former UTRGV Head Coach Paul Leese, Hancock is excited to run it back with the student-athletes currently on the roster and help the program take the next step in its success.
“We’ll be first worrying about the guys here in this group knowing that we have enough to get there,” Hancock said. “Now, it’s can they get better, can I do better and identifying and then finding a few guys that can help the group and help lift the group just a notch.”
The NCAA announced Thursday evening that regular recruiting calendars will return starting June 1 which includes in-person recruiting.
Twitter: @Radio_Rubio
