SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Texas Lutheran secured the program’s first NCAA Tournament win in program history Saturday night, powered behind a brace from Jesus Carillo, knocking off Whitman, 3-2, in the opening round at Paul McGinlay Field on the campus of San Antonio.
TLU which enter the NCAA Tournament on an eight-game unbeaten streak and the program’s second SCAC Tournament title, broke the ice in the 32nd minute when Carson Alldredge buried his second goal of the season, courtesy of a Max Guzman assist to take a 1-0 lead. Texas Lutheran would take the only shot in the remainer of the first half following the Alldredge goal and take a 1-0 lead into intermission.
The Bulldogs doubled their lead quickly out of the break when Jesus Carrillo slotted away his eighth goal of the year in the 49th minute, off a double assist from Raymond Palmer and Romario Salazar. Carrillo struck for his second goal of the match in the 79th minute to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead. Guzman was credited with his second assist of the night on the goal.
Whitman, who came into the NCAA opening round with a perfect unbeaten record, fought back, scoring a pair of goals within a three-minute span to pull within one, 3-2, with less than eight minutes remaining in the contest. The Blues would outshoot Texas Lutheran, 3-0, over the final eight minutes, but the Bulldogs defense held strong to see out the first NCAA Tournament win in program history, 3-2.
Texas Lutheran finished the match with an 11-10 advantage in shots, including a 5-4 edge in shots on target. Whitman finished the contest with six corner kicks, to just four for TLU.
Bulldog goalkeeper Ernesto Avila was credited with two saves in the win.
TLU extends its unbeaten streak to nine games, remains unbeaten on the season when scoring multiple goals and improves to a perfect 5-0 when scoring three or more goals in a game on the season.
The win marks the fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament an SCAC team has won at least won NCAA Tournament contest.
With the win, TLU will face a familiar foe in the second round in host Trinity. The Tigers, members of the SCAC from 1988-2025, defeated Hardin-Simmons, 5-0, in their NCAA opening round contest. This will mark the second meeting between the two programs in the NCAA Tournament, with the Tigers earning a 3-0 win in the first round of the 2002 tournament. Tomorrow will also mark the second meeting this season between the two teams, with Trinity earning a 1-0 win on September 12th.
The winner of Sunday’s second round contest will earn a trip to the sectional round of the NCAA Tournament. Kickoff is scheduled for Sunday, November 16th at 8:00 PM CST.
