EDINBURG, Texas -- Three goals in six minutes in the second half helped Texas Rio Grande Valley to a 3-2 victory over the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team on Sunday afternoon at the UTRGV Soccer Complex. Sophomore Alex Welch (Carmarthen, Wales/King's College Madrid) and senior Noah Brodie (Scottsdale, Ariz./Carbondale Community) each tallied for the Huskies. 

"We were in control for the first half and even (early) in the second half," said NIU head coach Ryan Swan. "They came out and played more direct and more physical but I thought we were pretty comfortable. We had a mix-up between center back and goalkeeper (on the first goal), maybe a lack of composure immediately after (for the second goal). After we went behind maybe we panicked a little bit

"We are still figuring things out a little bit from a maturity perspective, we have a young team and we have made some mistakes that have cost us games."

In very warm conditions where the temperatures reached triple digits, NIU (2-2) opened the scoring in the seventh minute. Senior Kevin Rodriguez (Pasadena, Texas/Deer Park) sprung Welch into the penalty area with a pass from midfield and the Huskie sophomore calmly slotted a shot past UTRGV goalkeeper Andy Rios to give the Huskies an early lead. 

Neither goalkeeper was tested against until the final minute of the opening half when freshman Pierce Ugarte (Oak Lawn, Ill./Oak Lawn) leaped highest to head a corner from senior Max Voss (Herten, Germany/Staedtisches Gymnasium Herten) on goal, but Rios made the save as NIU took a 1-0 lead into halftime. 

UTRGV pulled level in the 60th minute on a goal my Angel Lopez. Matt Beaulaurier and William Akio connected passes before a cross found Lopez all alone as he scored to even the match, 1-1. 

Just 44 seconds later the Vaqueros were in front as Kyle Edwards scored. Akio one again provided an assist as he played a one-touch pass to Edwards for the finish to give UTRGV a 2-1 lead in the 61st minute. 

Three minutes later, NIU had a chance through junior Irvin Dominguez (Frisco, Texas/Richland College) that was saved by Rios. 

The Vaqueros added a third goal in the 66th minute as Lopez scored his second of the contest. Isaiah Hinds played a pass to Lopez into the box and Lopez fired a shot into the far corner of the goal as UTRGV took a 3-1 advantage. 

NIU pulled a goal back in the 71st minute as Brodie brought the Huskies back within a goal. Brodie pounced on a loose ball and unleashed a shot from the top of the box past Rios for his first goal of the season, the third of his NIU career. 

Pushing for an equalizing goal, freshman Anthony Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) flashed a header wide off a corner in the 82nd minute and Brodie got on the end of a cross in the 86th minute, but sent the header high as the Vaqueros claimed the victory. 

Markanich and fellow freshman Adrian Corona (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) were named to the RGV Invitational All-Tournament Team.

The Huskies will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 7, when the Huskies welcome Purdue Fort Wayne to DeKalb for the regular season home opener. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m., following the NIU women's soccer match against Green Bay. 

"It is tough to be on the road for four games (to start the season) but we are excited to get home in front of our crowd," said Swan. "It will be a tough game, Purdue Fort Wayne was down here and won the tournament, they beat both UTRGV and Houston Baptist, so we know it will be a tough one but we are excited to get back home."