Men's soccer continues RRAC road trip at Jarvis, A&M-Texarkana this week

Texas A&M University-Victoria's first-year men's soccer head coach Vince Martinez wanted to see a response from his team last Saturday.

The Jaguars got a 2-1 win over Louisiana Christian thanks to goals from Baillie O'Reilly and Jervan Matthew after losing to a ranked LSU Shreveport team two days prior, showing Martinez what he wanted to see from his team. It was the first time the Jaguars had ever won at Louisiana Christian and first time in four years they knocked off the Wildcats.

Now, A&M-Victoria (5-4, 1-1) looks to build with a road trip to Jarvis Christian (0-7, 0-2) and Texas A&M-Texarkana (2-3-4, 1-1) on Thursday and Saturday this week to continue Red River Athletic Conference play.

"You never know how the guys will respond after a loss," Martinez said. "I was very, very happy with the team effort. That was an important game for us. And for us to play four games in nine days, and come out Saturday with a win, it was great for the team."

While Matthew and O'Reilly are no stranger to the scoresheet for A&M-Victoria this season with eight combined goals now, the Jaguars saw two new faces open their assist tally with Jack Dibble and Chris Mendez providing assists on Saturday.

The Jaguars now boast 10 different players with assists this season and O'Reilly leads the way with five of the team's 15 assists. They have had seven different players find the back of the net with Matthew's five goals leading that category.

"You can't always rely on one or two guys," Martinez said. "So, having multiple guys be a part of goals and assists, creating opportunities, it goes a long way. Every week, there's someone else getting involved on the scoresheet."

Mendez's assist on Matthew's goal in the 50^th minute on Saturday was the first of the freshman's career.

He's played in each of the last six matches, but he has started in the last two matches after showing the coaching staff he has adjusted well to the collegiate game in his first year.

He scored a game-winning goal against Huston-Tillotson on Sept. 18.

"Initially, he was a little bit shy and timid," Martinez said. "But putting him in helped him get some confidence and scoring that goal definitely helped him get on the right track. After a couple of starts now, he feels he's more a part of the team and contributing. He's doing some better stuff, not just in attack, but in defense as well. So, it's not a big surprise, but he's been very helpful in the midfield and he's been doing a good job."