VICTORIA, Texas — Artur Rubim scored twice Thursday, and Xavier University of Louisiana men's soccer pulled away in the second half for a 3-1 Red River Athletic Conference victory against Houston-Victoria.
        It was the sixth consecutive victory for the Gold Rush (9-3-1 overall, 8-2 RRAC). XULA will stay on the road and visit RRAC opponent Huston-Tillotson at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Austin, Texas.
        Rubim scored in the 10th minute, and XULA led 1-0 at halftime. It was the ninth consecutive game that the Gold Rush did not allow a first-half goal.
        The Jaguars (6-5-2, 4-5-1) gained a tie on Matt Sturgeon's goal in the 62nd minute. Then XULA answered promptly on Leonardo Menzen's goal in the 67th minute and Rubim's goal in the 72nd minute.
        Rubim has five goals this season, all in the last four games. It was his second multi-goal game.
        Breno Zanolla, the goalkeeper of record in all Gold Rush games this season, had a season-high five saves.
        XULA climbed past Louisiana Christian, a 2-1 loser at Texas A&M-San Antonio, and into third place in the Red River. The Red River awards three points for each conference victory, one point for each tie and zero points for each loss. LSU-Shreveport leads with 28 points, followed by LSU-Alexandria with 26, XULA with 24 and Louisiana Christian with 22.