Covering UMHB Athletics and the stories behind the score
BELTON — It is becoming more and more routine as the seasons pass by. Take a look at the American Southwest Conference men’s soccer standings come mid-October, and you can count on UMHB sitting atop the group. You can also count on them staying there.
BELTON — In the words of head coach Ben Allen, it’s been a “shaping year” for UMHB men’s soccer. What exactly does that entail for a team that currently sits first in the American Southwest Conference standings? For one thing, plenty of tough matchups.
The friendship between UMHB head men’s soccer coach Ben Allen and Hardin-Simmons head coach Brad Bankhead goes way back. On Thursday, the two will face off in Abilene in a key ASC matchup.
Both the UMHB men’s and women’s soccer teams began their 2023 regular seasons outside of Texas. And they both returned back home to Belton with a pair of quality results in tow.
After rolling to the American Southwest Conference title a year ago, with successive 5-1 and 6-0 victories in the ASC Tournament, the UMHB men’s soccer team begins 2023 with a not-so-unusual target on their backs.
BELTON- Ben Allen can still recall the sights and sounds of that NCAA Tournament match, now 13 years ago. The stands were full at the Cru soccer field, fans clad in white, cheering UMHB on in its debut in the national tournament.
AUSTIN, Texas- Last Saturday afternoon, the UMHB men’s soccer dropped its regular season finale to Concordia, 5-1, and in the process, the streak of 18 straight ASC matches without a loss was snapped as well.
BELTON- 572 days. 16 conference matches. And not a single loss.
The UMHB men’s soccer team scored twice in the second half of Saturday’s match at Ozarks, pulling out a 3-1 victory, and the success continued for the Crusaders, who have gone a year and a half without a loss in the ASC play.
BELTON- The last time UMHB men’s soccer took down Trinity in Belton, Ben Allen played 58 minutes in the 1-0 victory. On Friday night, he was on the field once again, this time as the program’s first-year assistant coach. And for the first time in 12 years, the Crusaders came up victorious against the Tigers, known for their consistency in the NCAA Tournament and status as one of the region’s power programs.
BELTON- There will be a changing of the guard when the UMHB men’s soccer team takes the field for its season-opening scrimmage against Hill College on August 17 in Belton. For the last 16 years, Brad Bankhead led the charge as the program’s head coach. But in May, it was announced that Bankhead would be moving to a new position within the administration as the associate athletic director, while longtime assistant Ben Allen was promoted into his first head coaching position.