ST. LOUIS—MBU Men's Soccer (0-5) gave the defending National Champion and No. 1 ranked Missouri Valley (4-0) a run for its money on Friday night. After a back and forth first half however, the Vikings used two second half goals to fend the Spartans off by a final of 5-2.
After the Vikings opened the scoring off a corner kick in the 8
th minute, the Spartans responded just over 60 seconds later. A shot from
Joe Ruane was punched away by MVC goalkeeper Dusan Milosevic, but
Brandon Burton was waiting on the doorstep to hammer home the rebound.
Missouri Valley reclaimed the advantage in the 17
th minute on a highlight reel strike from Mike Moser. It was then 3-1 after another goal off a corner, this one a header from Stevan Milosevic, in the 25
th minute.
The Spartans showed signs of life in the 36
th minute.
Antonio Bussu played a ball into space for
Jack Carney to run onto. Carney was taken down in the penalty area by MVC's Kazuki Hashimoto, awarding a PK to the Spartans.
Dom Smith converted his second goal from the spot this season and it was back to a one-goal game at 3-2.
The comeback was not to be however as the Vikings reasserted a two-goal advantage with a marker in the 63
rd and then sealed the victory with a fifth goal (off another corner) in the 78
th.
Wessel Berenschot made four saves for the Spartans. The final shot count was close at 9-6 in favor of the defending National Champions.
"We haven't had the season open the way we wanted but tonight was a small step in the right direction," observed MBU Head Coach
Jake Alvernia. "We hosted the defending champs and No. 1 team in the nation, and we had some success. I thought we put up a good fight. Our fitness is still off a bit and we're suffering in the second halves. Overall we can use this to make us better for the next game."
Sophomore forward
Jack Carney earned 'Man of the Match' honors.
"Jack was brilliant on the ball tonight," said Alvernia. "He really gave MoVal some problems."
Missouri Baptist will continue the search for their elusive first victory on Monday when they welcome Tennessee-Southern (formerly Martin Methodist) to Spartan Field. Kickoff is set for 5 pm.
