Nathaniel Puente 
A professor once told me, the fifth week of the semester is when all starts to go downhill. Students at Oxford have even dubbed it the “fifth week blues.” Well, you might want to check their citations because apparently UTRGV Men’s Soccer did not get the memo.
After four weeks of traveling to Florida, West Virginia, and some weird place named Austin, the Vaqueros were in Edinburg for their home opener against the Central Arkansas Bears. If you like defensive struggles, this game was for you. The two teams found no luck in the scoring game until Bryce “penalty” Box finds the net from just inside the box. The Bears are calling for a penalty to no avail and UTRGV celebrates a hard fought goal. The Vaqueros would hold on to win and extend their record to (4-2-1).
Now, over to the ladies. Women’s Soccer also stayed home to face Grambling State. There must be something in the water in Edinburg because defense was the story once again. Despite both teams combining for 24 shots, neither team found the net until the 86th-minute when Emily “Zappin’” Zapata notched her third goal of the season to elevate the Vaqueras to victory.
College sports are full of rivalries that spread back decades and even centuries are plentiful at many universities. One of the biggest rivalries out there consists of UT vs Texas A&M. While you might think its secluded to the Longhorns and Aggies, the rivalry extends to several schools in the systems. For example: UTRGV and A&M-Corpus Christi and even UT Arlington and Tarleton State. Well, worlds collided just a bit as UTRGV Women’s Soccer took on 15th ranked-Texas A&M.
The Vaqueras were outmatched and the game played out that way. Texas A&M got the scoring started in the first five minutes and did not take their foot off the gas pedal. The Aggies broke through for five goals on the day. The most notable highlights for UTRGV came on some great saves by Kinga Szemik.
Since we’re going in alphabetical order, let’s close things out with Volleyball. The Vaqueras wrapped up non-conference play at the UTRGV Tournament.
The team had a couple of Texas foes and a powerhouse Pac-12 school to face but Barbara Silva and the Vaqueras were up for the challenge. Things started against Texas Southern where UTRGV offensively annihilated the Tigers. Samarett Carabello came alive with 5 aces as the Vaqueras won in a 3-set sweep. The next match came against Washington State, who proved why they are receiving votes to be a Top 25 school. UTRGV won the fourth set but it was no matter as the Cougars broke through to win the game 3-1.
The final game of the tournament pitted UTRGV against Houston Baptist. The back-and-forth affair saw each team trade set wins. In the fifth set, the game was tight and UTRGV took a small lead before Houston Baptist got on a hot streak that would eventually elevate them to a win.
Volleyball closes out non-conference play with a (6-8) record and are set to only play WAC opponents the rest of the season.
Click on the video below to watch the segment.
