Posted: Oct 05, 2025
Men's Soccer shuts down Paul Quinn in HBCUAC Opener
Alejandro Barcena scored two goals. Anthony Ulloa and Christopher Escalante scored in the second half to carry Wiley University men's soccer to a 4-0 victory over Paul Quinn College in its Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) opener Saturday at Pemberton Field.
The Wildcats (4-3-1, 1-0-0 HBCUAC) extend their winning streak to two matches and win their conference opener for the first time since 2018. They record consecutive shutouts for the first time since October 19 and 21, 2017. The victory also gets them their most wins since the program restarted in 2023.
"We're excited to get our first conference win," left back Daniel Sanchez said. "The team morale is over the moon."
On the day that seniors Anfernee Bascombe, Melvin Bonilla, Rodrigo Rosales, Escalante, Abel Lopez, Kevin Rosales and Habimana Janvier were honored, it was the freshman Barcena that provided the early spark for the Wildcats. In the 33rd minute, he rebounded a shot by Jayce Graves and put it in the back of the net for his first career goal. He increased the lead three minutes later as he scored off a pass from Salvador Vazquez.
In the 54th minute, Ian Hernandez got a corner kick and passed the ball to Ulloa, who perfectly placed the ball in the right side of the net for his fourth goal of the season. With the sizable lead, Rodrigo, Lopez and Escalante got their first action of the season. Escalante made the most of it. He received a pass from Sanchez and put it in the center of the net for his second career goal.
"I had a setback last semester," Escalante said. "I got injured and have been working hard trying to get back into playing condition. I finally got my opportunity today. I had to score that goal to show my teammates that I can still play."
The Wildcats outshot Paul Quinn 21-2 and 10-2 in shots on goal. Wiley also had more corner kicks with five to the Tigers' two. Ulloa led the team with seven shots and four on goal.
Kevin Nievas started at goalkeeper and held the Tigers scoreless for 67 minutes and made one save to earn his third victory. Bonilla played the last 23 minutes, receiving his first action of the season.
Wiley will host Oakwood University at 9 p.m. October 11 at Tatum High School.
For more coverage on the Wildcats, visit https://wileyathletics.com/sports/msoc/index
About Wiley University Athletics
Wiley University sponsors 13 varsity sports, women's volleyball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's indoor track and field, men's and women's outdoor track and field, softball and baseball. It competes in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC).
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