Posted: Nov 08, 2025
Last One Standing: Men's Soccer overpowers Huston-Tillotson in Second Half, captures HBCUAC Title
SHREVEPORT, La. - In the fall of 2022, Wiley University restarted the men's soccer program as a club team. Friday night at Lee Hedges Stadium, Christopher Escalante, Habimana Janvier, Abel Lopez, Kevin Rosales, Rodrigo Rosales and Daniel Sanchez stood as champions. The Wildcats scored three second half goals to defeat Huston-Tillotson University 4-2 in the 2025 Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) Championship match.
Wiley (9-3-2, 3-0-1 HBCUAC) is the first school to win the HBCU Athletic Conference, winning its second title in program history, with the last coming in 2015 as a member of the Red River Athletic Conference. Escalante said hard work got them where they are today.
"AD (Rafael) Gonzalez brought in several players from different places," Escalante said. "We had our first season and got better. Coach (Andrew) Benitez came and brought in new players and made us even better. We started playing together as a team. This is where it got us."
Janvier said the team pushed itself hard and did whatever it took.
"We always had great competition in practice and games," Janvier said. "It resulted in fewer minutes for some, but we became stronger and it made us a better team."
The Wildcats struck first in the 28th minute. Anthony Ulloa put a shot on goal, which Huston-Tillotson goalkeeper Luke Phillips blocked. Juan Cayasso put the rebound in the right corner of the net for his second goal of the season. In the final two minutes, Huston-Tillotson tied the match.
Kevin Nievas made three saves in the first 20 minutes of the second half to keep the match tied. Alejandro Barcena had a scoring opportunity but was fouled by Phillips, setting up a penalty shot. Aaron Castillo took the shot and put it in the right corner of the net for his fourth of the season.
In the 70th minute, Ulloa kicked the ball upfield and connected with Rintaro Sakai, who was running towards the net and kicked it past Phillips for his second goal of the season. The Rams cut the lead to one in the 74th minute on a corner kick. Four minutes later, Juan Reyes passed to Diego Rivas, who kicked the ball into the right corner of the net to push the margin to two.
Wiley outshot the Rams 20-15. Ulloa led the team with five shots, including three on goal. Castillo followed with four and three on frame. Nievas stopped nine shots, picking up his fifth win.
Ian Hernandez was named 2025 HBCU Athletic Conference Soccer Championship Most Valuable Player. His strong physical play helped the Wildcats control possession. Ulloa, Barcena, Jayce Graves and Juan Cayasso earned All-Tournament.
The Wildcats will find out their opponent and site for the 2025 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men's Soccer National Championship First and Second Round site during the 2025 NAIA Selection Show on November 14 at 5 p.m.
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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