ODESSA, Texas - The Texas Wesleyan men's soccer team split a pair of Red River Conference matches, falling to College of the Southwest, 3-2 on Friday afternoon and defeating UT-Permian Basin, 3-2 on Saturday afternoon.

     Texas Wesleyan (6-8-1, 5-2 RRAC) fell to third place after splitting the pair of matches.

     In its victory over UT-Permian Basin, the Falcons took the early lead, scoring in the sixth minute. The Rams fought back scoring in the 14th minute. Junior Jose Melendez scored on an assist from junior Rene Mercado to knot the score.

     UT-Permian Basin took a 2-1 halftime lead, when a miscommunication between a Ram defender and sophomore goalkeeper Thomas Hansen resulted in an own goal.

     In the second half, Texas Wesleyan tied the score in the 70th minute when Mercado scored on an assist from Melendez. Junior Travis Mauldin scored the game-winner in the 84th minute on another assist from Mercado.

     In the Rams' loss to College of the Southwest, the Rams were playing catch-up the entire game. Mercado and sophomore Mark Puente scored Texas Wesleyan's goals, with Puente and junior Nathan Mutchler picking up the assists.

     Texas Wesleyan returns to action Wednesday when they host conference-rival Northwood in its regular-season finale. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at Martin Field. Texas Wesleyan defeated Northwood, 2-1, in Cedar Hill, and lost to the Knights in the conference semifinals, 3-1, in Fort Worth last season.