BELTON, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor men's soccer team edged Howard Payne University 3-2 Saturday evening in Belton. The win improved the Cru to 7-1-2 on the season and 3-0-1 in American Southwest Conference action while the Yellow Jackets fell to 4-6-2 overall and 1-3-0 in league play.

Patrick Roach gave the Cru an early lead with a goal in the second minute of action, scoring off an assist from Nick Villanueva. Roach assisted an Ethan Dacaret goal 15 minutes later to put the Cru up by two. UMHB held that lead until halftime, outshooting the Yellow Jackets 8-2 in the period.
 
Howard Payne opened the second half of action with a goal in the 54^th minute, cutting the gap to one. Nick Villanueva responded nine minutes later, finishing a pass from Francisco Maldonado for a 3-1 Cru lead. The Yellow Jackets added one more goal in the 80^th minute, cutting the lead to just one score with 10 minutes left to play. UMHB fought off late corner kicks from the Yellow Jackets to seal the 3-2 win.
 
Ethan Dacaret and Alex Bethke led the Cru with four shots each while Villanueva, Brody Conley and Roach each added three. UMHB totaled 25 shots in the contest, putting 14 on frame. The Crusader defense limited the HPU to seven total shots with just five on mark. Dalton Lloyd earned the win in the goal for the Cru, allowing two goals with three saves in the full 90 minutes.
 
UMHB returns to road action in a pair of ASC matches next week. The Cru faces UT Dallas on Thursday, October 13^th in a 7:30 p.m. contest before traveling to University of the Ozarks for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, October 15^th.