UTPB football coach Justin Carrigan was choosing to look forward.
“Just get better,” he said, after speaking Monday about the Falcons’ 28-27 loss to West Texas A&M on Saturday in Canyon.
“The guys played hard and we were on the wrong side (of the result),” he added. “Same thing every week. Don’t worry about who your opponent is; get better in position alignment assignments.”
UTPB (2-3 overall, 1-2 in Lone Star Conference) battled back from a 16-0 deficit early in the second quarter with back-to-back touchdown passes from Dylan Graham to wide receiver MJ Link to trail by just two at halftime.
The Falcons took their first lead of the game on a Carson Roberts’ field goal early in the third quarter and the teams proceeded to trade scores the rest of the way before Gage Urias connected on a 32-yard field goal with three seconds remaining to lift the Buffaloes to victory.
UTPB returns home to host Simon Fraser (B.C.) at 6 p.m. Saturday at Ratliff Stadium.
It will be the first meeting between the teams, with Simon Fraser (0-3, 0-3) the only Canadian university that plays in the NCAA.
>> HONORED: Women’s soccer goalkeeper Jenna McEnaney was selected as the Lone Star Conference Goalkeeper of the Week, the school announced Monday.
McEnaney was in the net for both of the Falcons’ victories last week.
She allowed one goal and made four saves against then 24th ranked Angelo State in a 2-1 victory on Wednesday.
McEnaney then produced a clean sheet in a 1-0 triumph against Texas Woman’s University on Saturday.
It was her third shutout of the season and lifted the Falcons to 4-4-1 record overall, 2-3 in conference.
The four wins are the most for the program since 2015.
>> SETTING THE MARK: Men’s tennis player Takumi Katsuda did something only one other Falcons’ player in history had achieved – advancing to the final of the ITA Division II Men’s South Central Regional championship match.
Katsuda, a freshman, defeated the No. 14 and No. 4 seeds on his march to the title match, where he faced No. 11 seed Martins Abamu of Lubbock Christian University.
After dropping the first set, Katsuda rebounded in the second set and then forced Abamu to work hard in the 6-2, 0-6, 7-5 loss.
>> BUILDING BLOCK: Men’s soccer head coach Victor Domingues said he was pleased with the Falcons’ 1-1 draw against UT Tyler, ranked in the Top 10 in the South Central Region.
Domingues, though, wants his team to focus of offensive in its upcoming contests.
“We have been talking about ball retention and finishing our chances,” he said. “There was just that one moment to toward the end of the game (Saturday), so we don’t expect those things moving forward.”
UTPB (2-2-3 overall, 0-0-1 in conference) travels to face Texas A&M International (2-4-4, 0-1-0) on Wednesday.
The Falcons return home to host St. Mary’s (5-0-4, 1-0-0) on Saturday at Falcon Field.
>> Follow Sameer Malla on Twitter at @OA_SameerMalla
