ST. LOUIS- Missouri Baptist Women's Soccer was triumphant in Tuesday's non-conference finale defeating Mid-America Christian University, 2-1. A leisurely first half didn't stop the Spartans from rallying and scoring two in the second period. Putting an end to a five-match winless streak, MBU now enters its American Midwest Conference schedule with plenty of momentum.
In the first-ever encounter of the two teams, it was MACU that started with the upper hand. Evangels forward Jasie Eischen lofted a shot from 35 yards out just over the out-stretched hands of MBU keeper Hanna Harrison to put Mid-America Christian on the board at the 22:10 mark. Missouri Baptist looked hard for an answer before halftime, but the Evangels stayed in control and out-shot the Spartans, 5-1, in the first half.
The Spartans didn't go away quietly. They were able to get on the board in the 50th minute of the game when Jordyn Besserman, of Troy, Ill., sent a laser of a shot past the Evangels goalkeeper and into the back of the net. Senior Morgan Hollenbeck set Besserman up for the shot after crossing the ball past two MACU defenders.
That invigorating play wasn't the last for MBU. Hungry for more, Besserman set up a corner kick with just under 20 minutes remaining and delivered the perfect ball to Spartan centerback Brianna Merchant, who headed it right past an unprepared Makayla Farquharson for her first goal of the year.
Concluding its non-conference slate at 4-3-2, Missouri Baptist (4-3-2) opens its eight-game AMC schedule at Stephens College (0-8-1) on Saturday afternoon in Columbia, Mo. The start time for the AMC opener is scheduled for 1 p.m.
