ST. LOUIS— In somewhat of a war of attrition, MBU Men's Soccer knocked off Evangel University 1-0 in Springfield, Mo. on Wednesday afternoon. The Spartans exacted revenge after the Crusaders came to St. Louis in last season's opener and won by the same score.
 
After losing more than half of their normal starting lineup from 2017, the new look Missouri Baptist lineup slugged it out with the Crusaders in the first half. The Spartans registered three shots on goal in the first half to Evangel's one. MBU had two early chances but Victor Rada's attempt was saved in the fourth minute and Brandon Boos rifled a shot off the post in the seventh minute.
 
The match went into halftime scoreless but turned in the Spartans' favor 20 minutes after the restart. This time Rada made no mistake as he slotted home to give Missouri Baptist a 1-0 advantage. The Spartans couldn't manage another shot on goal the rest of the match but they didn't need it. Sophomore goalkeeper Davide Bucarelli made just two saves, one on either side of halftime, to earn a clean sheet.
 
Freshman defender Richie Taylor earned "Man of the Match" honors for his part in maintaining the shutout.
 
"Richie was huge for us today on the backline," noted Head Coach Jake Alvernia. "All day long he was covering ground and breaking up Evangel's attack."
 
Overall, Alvernia could not been more pleased with his team's effort.
 
"We played well today for our first game. Our preseason was intense and the boys responded in our first two preseason matches and we were able to continue to create chances. We were really good today going forward and it took us until the second half to break them."
 
MBU will try to keep the momentum going when they return home to take on Greenville University (Ill.) on Monday. The Spartans will be looking to win their first two games in a season for the first time since 2009. Kickoff at Spartan Field is set for 5 pm.