Box Score ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] An early goal from Gerardo Espinoza proved to be enough in the Spartans 1-0 win over Harris-Stowe Thursday afternoon.
They win put the Spartans (4-3-3, 1-2) over the .500 mark and gave the team its first conference win of the season. MBU grinded out the lowing scoring and physical affair with the Hornets. The game featured 29 fouls, six yellow cards and one red.
Rafael Rangel assisted on the Espinoza goal in the 4th minute to give MBU the early lead and only goal of the game. Espinoza received the ball near the box, dribbled around and past the goalkeeper and then finished things off at the empty net. He added to his team lead with four goals.
"We started strong and took a deserved early lead," said head coach Jake Alvernia. "Harris-Stowe played better in the second half and we never quite settled back into the game. A hard fought win today."
The strong start included a few scoring chances in the first half, one in which MBU outshot the Hornets 9-2. Selmir Ademovic had a quality scoring chance in the 17th minute and nearly put MBU ahead 2-0, but his shot trickled just wide of the net. The Spartans also got their head on a few corner kicks that couldn't quite find the net.
As Alvernia mentioned, Harris-Stowe picked things up after halftime, while the Spartans struggled to find scoring chances. The Hornets outshot MBU 8-2 in the final 45 minutes and had several opportunities to net the equalizer.
The road team never could quite capitalize large in part to five second-half saves from freshman keeper Braedan Passalis. With the offense a bit off in the passing game, Harris-Stowe controlled possession for a majority of the second half. The trio of Richard Kraka, Youssef Jacon and Ahmed Ahmed all came off the bench for Harris-Stowe and recorded multiple shots.
Despite the threats, Missouri Baptist grinded out the victory. They'll continue conference play on Saturday against St. Louis College of Pharmacy at SLUH High School. The match is set to start at 7:00 pm.
