ST. LOUIS- Missouri Baptist University Men's Soccer faced off in a midday game today (Aug 30) against Trinity Christian College. With a will to never give up, the Spartans battled it out and were able to come away victorious.

After earning a draw in the season opener, the Spartans were looking to come out hot and earn their first win of the season. MBU was setting the pace for most of the first half, out shooting the Trolls 9-2. While they had more scoring opportunities, the Spartans were struggling to be on target, only four of the nine shots on goal in the first half.

The Spartans found themselves down a goal 15 minutes into the second half after Trolls forward, Joao Leonardo, was able to take advantage of a hole in the Spartans defense. The Spartans kept pressing forward trying to make up the difference.

With 18 minutes left in the game, Seosamh Sheerin was attempting to make a cross to a fellow Spartan, but the ball was stopped by the hand of a Trinity player inside the penalty box. With a golden opportunity to get on the board, Captain Dominic Smith stepped up to take the penalty kick. With a short run up, Smith slid the ball in, going right passed the hands of Trinity goalie, Giorgos Christodoulou.

With the game tied the Spartans were getting their groove back, looking to earn that second goal they were unable to score the previous game. That goal came with only six minutes left in the game. Back on the Trolls end, sophomore Marko Dordevic was fighting off his opponent while trying to maintain control of the ball. Utilizing a backwards pass, Dordevic was able to sneak the ball in to senior, Lucas Encino who was subsequently fouled right inside Trinity's penalty area. Dordevic, stepping up to take the penalty kick this time around, fooled the goalie and knocked it on in. With the two penalty goals scored, the Spartans came out on top, defeating Trinity 2-1.

Head Coach Alvernia was happy with the team's performance today, saying "we were very dominant.  I thought we could have benefited from a few goal chances to take the lead, but they held us at bay.  Second half we wanted to take the first goal, but unfortunately, we conceded first again.  We've shown the ability to fight back already in these two games and I'm happy for it, but we need to correct this going forward.  Coach Sitibaldi has done a very good job getting started this year and we knew this one wouldn't be easy.  Overall, we fought back and earned our first win of the season and that's what matters."

Up next, the Spartans will be hitting the road this Friday (Sept 1), taking on Florida Memorial University at noon.