PINEVILLE, La. – The Louisiana Christian University men's soccer team took advantage of a man-advantage over the match's final five minutes, putting two shots in the back of the net over that span to steal away a 3-2 win over the Jarvis Christian Bulldogs Tuesday night at Wildcat Field.
The match was quick paced to start as Jarvis Christian (2-4) took the lead in the second minute off a set piece, but it didn't take long for Louisiana Christian (3-4) to respond. In the fifth minute,
Juan Sierra lifted a corner kick from the left side towards the near-post and
Matej Motycka got his head to it, redirecting it inside the left post to even the score at 1-1.
It remained that way almost all the way to halftime, but in the 42
nd minute, the Bulldogs pulled ahead once again as an attacking player pulled free at the top of the box and unleashed a shot which found the back of the net, putting Jarvis Christian up 2-1.
LCU dominated the action throughout the second half, taking 14 total shots compared to just five by Jarvis over the last 45 minutes, but the tying goal remained elusive.
In the 86
th minute, the Wildcats received some help as a Bulldog player was shown a straight red card for an unsportsmanlike act right in front of the LCU bench.
Now a man up, it took Louisiana Christian little more than 30 seconds to finally find the equalizer as Sierra sent another corner kick into the box and this time
Gabriel Zuniga got his head to the ball, slotting it into the top-left corner to even the score at 2-2.
LCU was not content just taking the tie after trailing for most of the contest, pushing the advantage in the search for the winning goal. With less than two minutes left on the clock, another set piece play helped the Wildcats find the winner. After being awarded a free kick just outside the 18-yard box, Sierra lifted a cross towards the penalty spot. A Jarvis defender who was crashing in got to the ball but kicked it towards his own net, forcing his goalkeeper to have to extend as high as possible to keep the ball out of the net.
While the save on the potential own goal was made,
Juan Pablo Murillo Pazos was there to find the ricochet and tap the ball into the open net to give the Wildcats their first lead of the night with only 79 seconds remaining on the clock.
Murillo Pazos's game-winner was his first goal of the season and came on his only shot of the contest.
Zuniga took three shots in the contest with the lone shot he put on target going in the net for his first goal of 2026.
Motycka sent two shots towards goal in the match, both on target, and his first half goal also being his first of the year.
Sierra took one shot and was credited with a pair of assists, giving him three this season.
Gustavo Varnier,
Ezra Williams, and
Manuel Sosa-Villaseñor both took a team-high four shots in the match with Varnier putting all four on frame while Williams put one on target.
Louisiana Christian took 22 shots in the match, putting 10 on frame as a team.
Tyson Cole (1-0) came on in the 59
th minute and closed out the contest. He was credited with a save while not conceding a goal in his 32 minutes in net to pick up the goalkeeper win.
Ricardo Gross started and played the first 58 minutes, making a pair of saves but conceded twice.
LCU's two goalkeepers saw 11 shots come their way by Jarvis Christian attackers, five of which were on target.
The Wildcats look to continue their run of positive results on home turf on Saturday afternoon as Blue Mountain Christian makes the trip to Pineville. Kickoff of Saturday's match against the Toppers (3-1-2) is set for 3 p.m. at Wildcat Field.
