St. Louis, Mo. - The Missouri Baptist Spartans held it together for one half of soccer, but were outscored 0-5 in the second, as they dropped their first game of the season on Thursday afternoon.

On a hot and balmy day, with a heat index of over 100, the Spartans took on the Maryville Saints, in an early contest against an NCAA DII opponent. The Saints started the game strong, recording six shots in the first half as compared to the Spartans' one. Reaching the half, it was clear that Maryville was on target.

As the second half began, Maryville began converting scoring chances into goals. Just 10 minutes into the new frame, Kory Dowell scored an unassisted goal to break the 0-0 tie. From there, it was all MU. The Saints' Kevin Aubuchon scored just 26 seconds later at the 56:46 mark. Then, at the 58:54 minute mark, MU added its third goal.

MU chipped in two more goals in the contest down the stretch and put the game out of reach for the Spartans. MBU is now 0-1 on the season. The team will try to regroup over the holiday weekend, when they travel to Central Methodist University for a 7:00 p.m. tilt on Saturday.