ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] Missouri Baptist Men's Soccer needed a home victory on Saturday in the hopes of keeping its American Midwest Conference Tournament hopes alive, and got just that. MBU posted two goals in the first half and two more in the second to grab the 4-3 win.
Missouri Baptist (4-11, 2-7 AMC) was absolutely deadly on offense from the first whistle on, and would need every bit of the insurance lead it had built.
In the first half, Missouri Baptist struck first in the 22nd minute. Erick Ocampo received a great pass from Jose Villatoro and made it a 1-0 match. It didn't take them long to extend that lead.
In the 39th minute, as the time was clicking down toward halftime, Josh Phillips made it 2-0 off a smooth pass from Gerardo Espinoza. With a two-goal advantage and just over five minutes remaining until the break, the Lions cut the lead in half, and with it, seized the momentum.
Alex Meany posted his first of two goals in the match in the 44th minute. Meany took a pass from Christian Faulk and sent it past Spartan Keeper, Brendan Carnahan, and made it a 2-1 lead for Missouri Baptist heading into the half.
Though Freed-Hardeman came out of the gate in the second half with more intensity, it was Missouri Baptist that grabbed the momentum back. Espinoza notched his only goal of the game, and handed MBU a 3-1 lead.
Benjamin Boyd made it 4-1 just over 10 minutes later off a nice assist from Thales Texiera, a goal which proved to be vital in the end. It was Boyd's fist goal of the season, which came at just the right time.
With the clock under 10 minutes and time running-out, the Lions turned it on. Freed-Hardeman posted two goals in the final seven minutes to cut its deficit to one, but ran out of time to complete its comeback as the Spartans picked-up a much-deserved conference win.
Four Spartans picked-up goals in this game as Ocampo recorded his second goal on the season. For Phillips and Espinoza, it was more of the same as the two entered the game tied for the team lead with five goals. The duo exited the game tied once again with six apiece.
MBU will head out on the road for what could be the final time this season on Tuesday, when they will take-on the Williams Baptist Eagles in Walnut Ridge, Ark.
