RIO GRANDE VALLEY – No. 25 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men's soccer team clinched a top-two finish and a first round bye in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament by defeating the Incarnate Word Cardinals 1-0 on Friday at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex.
 
The Vaqueros (6-1-2, 6-1-2 WAC) now await the result of Saturday's 9 p.m. match between No. 15 Grand Canyon (6-0-0 WAC) and UNLV. If Grand Canyon loses or ties, the Vaqueros win their first WAC Championship and earn the top seed in the WAC Tournament. If Grand Canyon wins, the Vaqueros enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed.
 
The Vaqueros opens the WAC Tournament on Thursday in the WAC Tournament Semifinals, hosted by UNLV. If the Vaqueros are the top seed, they play at 1 p.m. against either No. 4 seed UNLV or No. 5 seed Seattle U. If the Vaqueros are the No. 2 seed, they play at 4:30 p.m. against either No. 3 seed San José State or No. 6 seed Air Force.
 
Fans in the United States can watch the WAC Tournament online via ESPN+. Fans outside the United States can watch online at WACDigitalNetwork.com.
 
In the 66^th minute of this match, senior Bryce Box stole a pass to the right of the box, took a few steps forward and then sent a cross to his left. Senior William Akio, who was near keeper Charles Beck (1-7-0), deflected the pass further left, setting up junior Reshaun Walkes to push the ball into the open corner of the net.
 
The Vaqueros outshot the Cardinals (2-7-0, 2-7-0 WAC) 11-3, including 5-1 on goal.
 
Junior Trevor Schneider (6-1-2) made one save for his career-high third shutout of the season, the fifth of his career.

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