Box Score ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] Columbia College came from behind to defeat Missouri Baptist 2-1 Saturday in Columbia. The Spartans struck first, but two second-half goals from the home team put things away.
"We were brilliant in the first 30 minutes and hung on till half," head coach Jake Alvernia said. "We dropped our play a bit in the second half and they picked up the pace. Overall, we played well against a top team today."
The first 30 minutes of brilliance included a goal from junior Gerardo Espinoza. Espinoza fired the ball into the back off the net from inside the box after Rafael Rangel looked behind and found him open. The goal was Espinoza's third on the season. Thales Teixeira nearly put MBU ahead 2-0 a few minutes later, but his shot rattled off the goal post.
Columbia also had opportunities in the first half, but goalie Braedan Passalis denied every attempt. He made three saves in the first 45 minutes as the Cougars rattled off nine shots his way.
As Alvernia referred to, the Cougars pushed the tempo in the second half and were able to find two goals. Edin Campara netted the equalizer 18 minutes in to the second half when he knocked the ball in past Passalis after finding it deep in the box. Nick Powers gave the Cougars the lead for good in the 69th minute when he ripped a beautiful shot into the corner of the net from 25 yards out.
Espinoza came close again to scoring in the final seconds, but couldn't quite capitalize.
"Our guys deserve a big compliment for how they went after Columbia today," Alvernia said. "We certainly created enough chances to win and it took a brilliant strike from Powers to beat us."
The Spartans next game will take place on Thursday against Harris-Stowe from CBC High School. The match is set for 1:00 pm.
