Martinez powers Lions to soccer win

Junior forward scores twice as SAGU wins, 4-1

WAXAHACHIE, Texas -- In one of their best offensive performances of the young season, Southwestern Assemblies of God University thumped Bethany College (Kansas), 4-1, at Lions Pride Park.

Junior forward Danny Martinez (Houston, Tx / Cypress Creek HS) led the way with an energetic effort that improved SAGU’s record to 2-2-1. He blasted two goals and had a would-be third ricochet off the crossbar.

After a Martinez point-blank laser bounced off Miguel Valadez, the Swedes keeper, Jordan Salvato (Springfield, Tx / Central HS) sent the rebound to the deepest recess of the net. The goal came just 1:24 into the contest and set the tempo for the Lions, who would outshoot Bethany by a 24-4 margin.

Another iron-rich shot led to the first of two goals by Martinez. Parker Sturgeon (Bartlesville, Ok / Bartlesville HS), who possesses a powerfully skilled left leg, crushed a shot from 16 yards that boinked off the bar. The carom was controlled by Jonathan “Colocho” Ramos (Tegucigalpa, Honduras / Garringer HS, Charlotte, NC), and then deftly passed to Martinez in the goal mouth. He blasted a low shot to the right of Valadez for a 2-0 margin at the 24:13 mark.

Bethany, who defeated Dallas Christian College, 1-0, the day before, battled well against the Lions, though they were often on their heels.

Recently activated Emmanuel Paz (Houston, Tx / Westfield HS), a lanky bolt of lightning off the bench, scored his second goal in as many games early in the second half to clinch the game. Benefitting from two quick passes from Salvato and Salvador Avila (Irving, Tx / MacArthur HS), “Manny” booted their offering high and to the right for a 3-0 advantage at 49:18 into the match.

Meanwhile, the defense enveloped Cesar Galvan (Dallas, Tx / Lovejoy HS), the Lions’ goalie. With Sam Cabrera (Tampa, Fla / Tampa Baptist), David A. Flores (San Migel, El Salvador / R.L. Turner HS, Richardson, Tx), Rezo Perez (Dallas, Tx / Jefferson HS) and Robbie DeLeon (Dallas, Tx / First Baptist Academy) forming a wall, the gold-cladded Galvan finished with a clean uniform.

Midway in the second half, the Swedes cashed in on an errant cross by the Lions. Valadez, who switched to the frontline in the second half for Bethany, intercepted the miscue and buried it.

The shutout lost, SAGU’s offense resumed their assault on the goal. They iced the victory when Martinez capitalized on passes from Joe Ballah (Monrovia, Liberia / Independence HS, Charlotte, NC) and Will Elliott (Mesquite, Tx / Cathedral of Life) with just under eight minutes remaining.

Lions play University of Dallas on Tuesday

SAGU’s next game is Tuesday, September 13, when they travel to Irving to play the University of Dallas Crusaders at 5:00pm. Admission is free. U-of-D is located just west of Loop 12 at Highway 183 near the old Texas Stadium site.

Contact: Mark "Link" Warde, Sports Information Director, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or at 469-658-2847.