ST. LOUIS—[BOX SCORE] Missouri Baptist Men's Soccer dropped a 2-1 decision to Williams Baptist on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles nabbed the winner with less than 20 minutes to play.
Danilo Cruz opened the scoring for WBC in the 12th minute when he headed in a cross past Spartan keeper Davide Bucarelli. That held up until just before halftime when junior transfer Jordan Lovell scored his first collegiate goal as a Spartan off a free kick.
As play continued into the second half, neither side generated much offense. While the attack was somewhat muted for both teams, the chippiness of the match was turned up a level. A total of seven yellow cards were handed out between both teams.
The scoring finally resumed in the 72nd minute when Fernando Moreto put Williams Baptist back in front. The Spartans had the opportunity to tie the match in the 88th minute but Eagles goalkeeper Abel Garcia stoned Gerardo Espinoza's penalty kick. WBC hung on for the 2-1 victory.
Head Coach Jake Alvernia lamented the missed opportunities but also pointed to the slow start:
"We started slowly and it killed us today," Alvernia said. "We fought back and we're rewarded before half. In the end, the missed PK was tough but we should have done better outside of that."
The Spartans will be back in action next Saturday when they take on Freed Hardeman at home. Kickoff at CBC Stadium is set for 1 pm.
