Senior goalkeeper Gil Ben Nachum made a huge save on a penalty kick attempt by Newman to preserve the 2-1 win. Courtesy photo

After seniors Esteban Bayona and Gil Ben Nachum were recognized for their accomplishments as UIW players, Incarnate Word (13-6, 8-2) found themselves down 1-0 after Newman’s Jake Baalman was able to put away a loose ball following a corner kick. Incarnate Word was unable to answer in the first half and went into the locker room trailing.

In the second half, UIW made some on-field adjustments and moved a few players into different areas of the field and found immediate success against the Jets (6-10-4, 3-5-2) when Bayona fought a defender for the ball at the top of the penalty area and chipped a shot over Newman goalkeeper Emmanuel Gutierrez for the 1-1 tie.

The goal put Bayona first on the team with six goals on the season and 43 points on the year.

A little more than 10 minutes later, junior Jamie Scope – moved up to the midfield as part of the halftime adjustments for UIW – was able to redirect a short, arching cross by Callum Riley and buried the ball into the net despite having the Newman goalie and a defender all over him for the 2-1 lead.

But the game was far from over, even after Scope’s eventual game-winner as Newman continued to fight and pressure the Incarnate Word goal, eventually getting a foul in the penalty area for a penalty kick attempt.

Nachum faced down Newman’s Brian Alvarez and stopped the attempt cold to preserve the 2-1 lead and thwart the Jets’ best scoring chance in the second half. Nachum finished with four saves in his last home contest as a Cardinal.