Men's Soccer | 11.08.2021

LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (8-6-1, 5-2-1) vs.
UT PERMIAN BASIN (6-6, 3-4)
Wednesday, Nov. 9 – 7 p.m.
LCU Soccer & Track Complex – Lubbock, Texas
 
CHAPARRAL HEADERS

• Lubbock Christian finished the regular season in third place in the Lone Star Conference, earning the right to host Tuesday's quarterfinal matchup
• The top two teams in the league receive a bye for the first round. Winners of the two quarterfinal matches will advance to play in the semifinals, which will be hosted in Wichita Falls by Midwestern State
• Lubbock Christian's goals against average of 1.47 is the third-best in the conference, and their scoring average of 2.00 is the third-highest mark
• UT Permian Basin finished sixth in the LSC with a 3-4 league record, averaging 1.33 goals per game while allowing 2.56 goals per game
• Because this is a Lone Star Conference Tournament game, Chap Passes will not get fans into the game. Student access is still free with an LCU ID

 
REGULAR SEASON RECAP
The Chaparrals head into postseason play with an 8-6-1 overall record. They started the season in Colorado, getting the first win of the year against Adams State (3-0). Playing at home for the first time, they suffered a 3-2 loss to MSU-Denver before handing CSU-Pueblo its first loss of the season 1-0. COVID cancellations kept LCU off the field for a week before they wrapped up nonconference play, going 1-2 against teams in the LSC. Conference play started with a bang, as the Chaps upset West Texas A&M 3-0, and they went on to win four more games against league teams while losing two and tying one, securing the No. 3 seed for this week's tournament.
 
RE-MATCH
Tuesday night's game is a rematch of the regular season finale that occurred just two days ago. LCU and UTPB met with major LSC Tournament implications on the line in a night game at Falcon Field in Odessa. If the Chaps won, they would enter the league tournament as the No. 2 seed and receive a first-round bye. While the Falcons had to win just to make the tournament as the No. 6 seed. UTPB took an early 2-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the match and led 3-1 at halftime. The Chaps tied the game back up with a pair of second-half goals, forcing overtime. With less than a minute to go before the end of regulation, a UTPB cross ricocheted off an LCU defender and into the goal, setting up this meeting.
POSTSEASON PLAY
When the Chaps host the Falcons Tuesday night, it will be the first postseason game they have hosted since Nov. 7, 2011 when they beat Rogers State 1-0 in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament. They also hosted Oklahoma Christian in the SAC Tournament that season, winning 4-0 at the LCU Soccer Field. In the NCAA era, Lubbock Christian has played in three postseason games. They were ineligible for the conference tournament in both 2013 and 2014, although they would have qualified both years. In 2018, they appeared for the first time, upsetting St. Mary's 2-1 before a 1-0 loss to WT ended their season. The last tournament game played by the Chaps was in 2019, when they fell 1-0 to SEU. LCU is 3-4 in conference tournament games all-time.
 
BALANCED ATTACK
Despite the loss on Saturday, Lubbock Christian scored three goals, bringing their season average to 2.00 goals per game. The three goals were scored by three different players, and overall, the Chaps have had 14 different players find the back of the net at least once this season. Luciano Rodriguez leads the team in points with 11 but is tied with Jacopo Ghezzi and Tariq Bakkali for the team lead in goals, as each player has four. Ghezzi has scored one goal in each of the last three games. LCU has attempted 183 shots this season (12.2 per game) and put 84 of those (45.9 percent) on goal.
 
BACK LINE BALLERS
The Chaparrals finished the regular season with a goals against average of 1.47, which ranks third in the Lone Star Conference. They earned shutouts seven times during the year, which is the most by an LCU team in a single season since 2013, when they had eight. Chap opponents have been limited to 10.8 shots per game and have put only 33.3 percent of those shots on goal. LCU goalkeeper Braxton Thorne was named the LSC Goalkeeper of the Week three times during the year and has a save percentage of .652. LCU players have also claimed Defensive Player of the Week three times when Luca Hollenstein winning twice and Ivan Muanze-Bengono once.
 
FRIENDLY CONFINES
Even with a pair of cancellations early in the season, Lubbock Christian has played six home games this year with a 5-2-0 record there. The Chaps are averaging 1.71 goals on 13.6 shots per game, with 46.3 percent of their shots on goal. This is the second season for LCU to play at the LCU Soccer & Track Complex, which was completed in 2020 and features an AstroTurf playing surface, a Musco lighting system to allow for night games and stadium seating for 500 fans. All-time, LCU is 49-30-11 in home games, including an 23-15-4 home record under head coach Paul Gilbert.
 
SCOUTING THE FALCONS

• Gustavo Barroso leads the team in goals this season with five, and another 12 players have scored at least once
• The Falcons ended the season with nine points, in a three-way tie for sixth, but earned the tiebreaker to make the playoffs via head-to-head matchups
• Alfonso Aragon has handled nearly all the goalkeeper minutes, posting a save percentage of .661
• Besides LCU, UTPB beat Oklahoma Christian and Texas A&M-International in LSC play
• The Falcons' goals against average of 2.56 during the regular season was the worst in the conference

 
A WIN ON TUESDAY WOULD:

• Be the 100th win in program history (99-81-22)
• Be the 41st win in head coach Paul Gilbert's career (40-47-10)
• Be the sixth win over UTPB since the season series began in 2014 (5-7-2)