North American University

DEER PARK, Texas — The North American University Stallions had to work for this one.

Huston-Tillotson came into Deer Park ready to make life difficult, putting 21 shots toward the NAU goal and grabbing the first lead of the night. But when the Stallions needed somebody to step up, Sandile Mdauli and Lutho Mkaba answered the call.

And then came Desailly.

North American University rallied from an early deficit to defeat Huston-Tillotson University 2-1 Thursday night at the Deer Park Soccer Complex, improving to 2-1-0 on the season.

The Rams struck first at the 17:26 mark when Boston Babiarz found the back of the net off an assist from Lito Guevara. HT had the momentum, and for a few minutes, the Stallions were playing catch-up.

Then Mdauli said, not so fast.

At 26:52, Mdauli ripped home his second goal of the season to pull NAU even at 1-1. The goal came unassisted, and just like that, the Stallions were back in business.

The first half ended tied, but there was plenty of soccer left to play.

Mdauli to Desailly. BOOM.

Just 5:19 into the second half, Mdauli went from scorer to setup man.

Mdauli found Desailly Bastien-Cowan, who finished the opportunity at the 50:19 mark to give NAU its first lead of the night.

NAU 2. HT 1.

And this time, the Stallions weren't giving it back.

Huston-Tillotson kept coming. The Rams finished the night with 21 shots, including 13 on goal. But standing between HT and the equalizer was NAU goalkeeper Lutho Mkaba.

Big L was BIG BIG on Thursday night.

Mkaba turned away 12 shots, repeatedly keeping the Rams from finding the equalizer. Huston-Tillotson had opportunities, plenty of them, but Mkaba kept saying "NOPE."

Meanwhile, the Stallions did what they needed to do on the other end.

Mdauli finished with four shots, all four on goal, one goal and one assist. Bastien-Cowan added two shots, both on frame, including the game-winning goal.

Felipe Hernandez Carrasco also kept the pressure on with three shots and two shots on goal.

The numbers show just how much work NAU had to put in. Huston-Tillotson held a 21-16 advantage in total shots, but both teams finished with 13 shots on goal. The difference was NAU's ability to finish when the opportunities came and Mkaba's ability to slam the door when HT came knocking.

And knock they did.

The Rams earned five corner kicks to NAU's four and kept the Stallions under pressure throughout the second half. NAU also picked up yellow cards on Alejandro Cruz and Enzo Di Mauro.

But when the final whistle sounded, it was the Stallions celebrating.

Wooooooo!

North American University walks away from Deer Park with a 2-1 victory, a winning record and another early-season lesson learned.

You don't always have to dominate the stat sheet.

Sometimes you just have to dominate the moments that matter.

And on Thursday night, Mdauli created them, Bastien-Cowan finished them, and Mkaba protected them.

That's a Stallion win.

Final: North American University 2, Huston-Tillotson 1.

North American improves to 2-1-0, while Huston-Tillotson drops to 0-2-3.