COLUMBUS, Miss. – Freshman Isaiah Vargas (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) broke open a scoreless match early in the second half to lead the Mississippi University for Women men's soccer team to its first St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) victory on Thursday at the Roger Short Soccer Complex. The Owls improved to 2-6-1 (1-1-0 SLIAC), while the Beavers fell to 1-6-2 (0-2-0 SLIAC).
 
The win was a gutsy performance by The W, which was missing several players due to illness, along with head coach BJ Pheasant. In true team spirit, MUW head men's basketball coach Dean Burrows stepped in to fill the coaching void for the day.   
 
"I am really happy and excited for the boys after they've had a more-than-interesting week," Burrows said. "These 17 young men did a remarkable job of playing for one another. From the moment they arrived at the field…they were focused at the task at hand."
 
The feisty Beavers' side played MUW to a scoreless draw the opening segment. But in the second stanza, Vargas netted his first two goals of 2023 – and just over two minutes apart - to provide the margin of victory. Vargas tallied, unassisted, at the 57:11 juncture to make it 1-0.
 
Then at 59:36, Vargas took a ball from Luis Morales (Memphis, Tenn.) and beat BC goalie Dawson Klunk on what would prove to be the match-winning goal. That's because the Beavers converted a penalty kick goal in the 79th minute to make things interesting down the stretch.
 
Defenders Kai VanCourt (Long Beach, Miss.) and Nolan Owens helped keep BC at bay, along with a stellar day in the nets by the Owls' Zach Seymour (Gulfport, Miss.). Blackburn out-shot MUW, 13-8, with 10 going on frame.
 
Seymour registered nine saves, allowing just the PK goal to slip past him.
 
The W will look to win its second SLIAC match of 2023 on Sunday, when it hosts Eureka College at the Roger Shot Soccer Complex. Kickoff for the men's game is slated for 3 p.m. (following the 1 p.m. women's bout versus the Red Devils).