CANYON, Texas - The UT Dallas men's soccer team picked up its first victory of the 2025 season, defeating West Texas A&M 1-0 in non-conference action Thursday at The Pitch at Buffalo Sports Park. The decisive goal came in the first half, contributing to a defensive battle where the Comets (1-2) held off 18 shots from the Buffaloes (1-1) in the shutout.
WT started the game aggressively with an early corner kick and shot by Felix Casas that was saved at the 1:15 mark. UTD capitalized on their opportunity in the 17th minute on an arching free kick just past midfield from
Evan Pustejovsky that found
Callum Thompson on a floating backwards header, giving them a 1-0 lead. Despite numerous attempts and four corner kicks from the Buffs, sophomore keeper
Ryder Claborn made key saves to maintain the lead.
Strategic plays and defensive efforts marked the second half between the Comets and the Buffaloes. Claborn made a crucial save early in the half, stopping a shot from Sam Carles at 46:05. A red card issued to UT Dallas with 12:33 remaining gave WT a man advantage the rest of the match. The Buffs maintained offensive pressure with several corner kicks, totaling six in the half, but Claborn's goalkeeping, with two key saves, kept them scoreless.
Claborn, making his Comet debut, tallied four saves in the shutout effort. Thompson,
Luke Harris,
Avery Estell,
Aiden Currie and
Tabor Robinson anchored the UTD defense, playing all 90 minutes.
The Buffaloes outshot the Comets 18-11 overall and 4-3 on goal. WT also led in corner kicks 11-4 and committed more fouls at 15-6.
UTD and WT will battle again in Richardson in a Lone Star Conference match on October 11.
UT Dallas Performances
Ryder Claborn - shutout, 4 saves
Callum Thompson - game-winning goal, 90 minutes
Evan Pustejovsky - assists, 2 shots on goal
West Texas A&M Performances
Zach Kos - 2 saves
Felix Casas - 2 shots on goal
Finley Axcell - 1 shot on goal
Up Next
Looking ahead, UTD will travel to Lubbock, Texas, for a matchup against Lubbock Christian on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
