Eastern New Mexico men’s soccer is set for a pair of Heartland Conference road matches this week as they will travel to San Antonio to take on St. Mary’s on Thursday at 6 p.m. before heading to Laredo, Texas to challenge Texas A&M-International on Saturday at noon.

LAST TIME OUT
The Hounds (4-3-1, 2-1-1 HC) split a pair of home matches last week, dropping a tough 1-0 decision to Rogers State on Thursday before bouncing back with a 4-2 victory over Newman on Saturday.

In their match against the Hillcats, the Greyhounds were able to sustain a strong offensive attack, outshooting RSU 14-8 in the match. However, both teams could only muster three shots on-goal with Rogers State scoring the game-winner in the 52nd minute. The Hounds had some chances late in the contest to score the equalizer, but all attempts fell short and the Hillcats held on for the win.

It was a tale of two halves in ENMU’s match against the Jets. Both the Hounds and Jets defenses were able to keep each other off the board as the two teams went into the half with a scoreless tie. The second half ended up being a high scoring affair as ENMU and NU traded goals throughout the half. After the Jets scored the game-tying goal at the 82:04 mark, freshman midfielder Marvin Lewin scored the game-winner a minute later off a Lucas Vaz assist, putting the Hounds ahead with just seven minutes left in the contest.

SCOUTING THE RATTLERS
St. Mary’s (4-1-2, 2-1-1 HC) currently holds a three-way tie for the Heartland Conference South Division lead. The Rattlers are coming off a pretty tough week on the pitch, as they dropped a 3-1 decision at Midwestern State on Thursday before coming away with a 1-all tie at Oklahoma Christian on Saturday.

For the Hounds to be successful, they’ll have to find a way to contain SMU senior forward Pato Botello Faz, who leads the team with seven goals scored and four assists. Faz also currently leads the Heartland Conference with 18 points.

HISTORY WITH THE RATTLERS
St. Mary’s leads the all-time series 8-4-1 against ENMU as the Hounds will be looking to snap a six-match winless streak against the Rattlers. In last season’s match, the Greyhounds dropped a tough decision to St. Mary’s as the Hounds fell 4-2 at Greyhound Stadium on Sept. 21, 2017.

SCOUTING THE DUSTDEVILS
Texas A&M-International (3-2-2, 2-1-1 HC) also holds a three-way tie for the lead in the Heartland Conference South Division along with St. Mary’s and St. Edward’s. The Dustdevils are coming off a solid week as they picked up a 5-0 win over Oklahoma Christian on Thursday before battling No. 1 Midwestern State to a 1-1 tie on Saturday.
The Dustdevils possess a balanced offensive attack on the front line with four players who have scored multiple goals, led by senior forward Rafael Montabes with four goals scored on the season.

HISTORY WITH THE DUSTDEVILS
The Dustdevils lead the all-time series 8-1-2. The Hounds will be looking to snap an eight-match winless streak against TAMIU. In last season’s match, ENMU fought hard against the Dustdevils, but ultimately dropped a tough 2-1 decision in overtime.

MIDWAY POINT
As the Hounds enter the midway point, the team has already made tremendous improvements this season. With a 4-3-1 mark through eight games, the Greyhounds have already matched their win total from last season with 10 matches left in the regular season. The last time ENMU won four of their first eight matches was during the 2013 season, when the team finished with a 9-5-4 overall mark.

TRIPLE THREAT
Three players lead the Greyhounds in scoring through the first seven matches with three goals apiece. Sophomore midfielder Lucas Vaz, sophomore midfielder Gabriel Peres, and freshman forward Aderi Arthur-Dede. Vas and Arthur-Dede each picked up their third goal in last week’s 4-2 victory over Newman.

ROAD TRIPPIN’
The Hounds will be looking to get some quality road wins over the next three weeks as five of the next six matches for ENMU will be away from home. So far this season, ENMU holds a 1-2-1 record in road matches.