Soccer: UTPB men extend record start to 5-0

As long as the winning streak for the UTPB men's soccer team continues, it will be the first time in program history that the Falcons will have that mark.

The record now stands at 5-0 after UTPB beat St. Mary's 1-0 on Sunday in its Heartland Conference opener.

There are few - if any - bones to pick with the Falcons' play on the field, coach Dennis Peterson said.

But there still are areas in which the team can improve, Peterson said.

"In my opinion, this was a total butt-kicking, but the score doesn't indicate it," he said. "Now, when we go up to their place to play them (on Oct. 24), they're not going to have that fear, that, ‘Oh, these guys just annihilated us at their place. They should be able to do it here.' We're not going to have that.

"That's why I kind of hate it when we don't put goals away that we should be finishing because that's usually where we end up in some trouble."

Even though junior forward Nickolas Kettlety didn't finish the game against the Rattlers (0-3, 0-2) - he was kicked in the right side of the ribs in the final minutes - he certainly closed the deal after Tyler Keith's pass about 15 feet from the goal.

Kettlety kicked it over the goalkeeper's head and tallied what would be the Falcons' only goal, in the 11th minute. Keith got the assist.

Kettlety said he would be fine for Thursday's game against West Texas A&M, and he noticed that there was a higher degree of roughness against St. Mary's than there is for most conference games, especially the opener.

"They came out and played hard and we matched the intensity," said Kettlety, whose team received three yellow cars in the first half for language.

And like Peterson, Kettlety noticed that UTPB could have had a more firm victory. The Falcons had nine shots, including five on goal, compared to the Rattlers' six, including three on goal.

"We couldn't finish," Kittlety said. "We need to work on that in practice: more shots."

The Falcons' last shot was an open look at the goal by Zac Enriquez, who missed left with five seconds remaining.

"My biggest concern right now is we have a game coming up on Thursday against West Texas A&M, who's nationally ranked, and if we're going to get these opportunities on goal, we've got to put them away or a team like that is going to take it to us," Peterson said.

Still, the streak continues.

"(Sunday), I don't think we were in any danger," said Peterson, whose team is ranked seventh in the NCAA Division II South Central Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. "I never saw (goalkeeper Gage Peterson) have to make any really good saves. Defensively, we stayed sound in the back. Offensively, we could have had another one there."