ST. LOUIS— Missouri Baptist Men's Soccer (6-3) came from behind to defeat Governors State (Ill.) (0-2) 4-2 on Wednesday afternoon at Spartan Field. The Spartans were playing in their first game since October 31.
 
The Spartans had hoped to pick up where they left off back in October when they finished the fall season with three straight wins. But the visiting Governors State Jaguars had other ideas in the early going. GSU stunned the Spartans for two goals in the opening 10 minutes of the first half.
 
As the half progressed, however, Missouri Baptist slowly began to shake the rust off. The breakthrough finally came in the 37^th minute. Nico Tossici sent a long ball to Joe Ruane just to the right of goal. Ruane had just enough space to complete a cross and Cullen Barr was on the other end to finish it off for his second goal of the season.
 
The Spartans went into halftime still trailing but the game was flipped on its head in the 68^th minute. MBU was hemmed in its own end until Richie Taylor was finally able to execute a long clear to midfield. But it turned out to be not just an attempt to relieve the pressure. A deflection by a GSU defender sent the ball into the path of MBU forward Louie Perez for a breakaway. The Jaguars' Martin Esquivel attempted to track Perez down but instead fouled Perez just inside the GSU penalty area. The Spartans were granted a penalty and to make matters worse for the Jaguars, Esquivel was sent off with a straight red card.
 
Dom Smith was able to convert the spot kick to tie the game at two. With GSU now down to 10 men, the Spartans were suddenly in a good position for the final 20 minutes.
 
Governors State managed to hold off the Spartan attack for stretch but in the 87^th minute it was Perez who again proved to be a problem for the Jags. From midfield, off a turnover, Smith played a ball into space with the hope that Perez could win a footrace to it. He did, getting there just in time before GSU goalkeeper Luis Ramirez. The sophomore poked the ball past Ramirez and into the gaping net. The Spartans led 3-2 with less than three minutes remaining.
 
Last than a minute later, a Kristian Dimitrov shot ricocheted in off the underside of the crossbar to double the lead. The two-goal deficit was too much for the shorthanded GSU squad to overcome. The Spartans earned their fourth straight win dating back to October.
 
"The boys recovered from a slow start, " noted Head Coach Jake Alvernia. "It took us 30 minutes to wake up. Credit to Governors State for coming out strong. We deserved the result but we need to come out stronger in the games to come. Hopefully it's a lesson that we'll remember this season."
 
For factoring on two of the three second half goals, Louie Perez was named 'Man of the Match'.
 
"Louie changed the game, manufacturing the tying goal and scoring the winner," Alvernia commented.
 
The Spartans improved to 6-3 overall ahead of the resumption of the AMC schedule next week. They'll travel to William Woods on March 6 for a 3:30 pm kickoff. MBU currently sits second in the conference after playing five of its eight AMC games in the fall.