ST. LOUIS – Missouri Baptist Men's Soccer extended their winning streak to four games after taking down Culver-Stockton College on Spartan Field, 3-1.
On a cloudy and bleak afternoon, both teams felt almost sluggish to begin the match. Fouls plagued the early goings, but the possession remained mostly in favor of MBU. The script was flipped during the 30th minute, when the Wildcats were able to strike first off an Arjun Johal goal. The shot would be C-SC's only attempt in the first half and only shot on goal for the entire game.
Despite the early deficit, the Spartans remained in control, pressuring their opposition's back line and keeper. What almost seemed inevitable came in the 40th minute, when Eroy Gonsalves was finally able to find an opening in the defense, scoring the equalizer.
Gonsalves' name was called again midway through the second. After forcing a turnover, MBU had the opportunity to run, with Adel Smajlovic sending a pass upward. Gonsalves received the pass in stride, blazing past defenders and forcing the keeper into a one-on-one. For the second time on the night, number nine in white won the duel.
The final goal for Missouri Baptist, what would swiftly put the game out of reach, was scored on an isolation attempt by Smajlovic. Although the start was slow, the Spartan offense roared to life in the second half.
"All we needed to do was be confident and trust in each other," Gonsalves, today's Man of the Match, said about the team's attack. "We thought, since this was a soft team, that this person was going to score, this person was going to score... After we came out in the second half one to one, we said, 'Okay, we got one back, time to go get the second and the third.'"
The season has seen quite the extremes regarding peaks and valleys, first with the six-game undefeated start, then the consecutive losses, and now another winning streak. As the season nears a close, and with postseason aspirations still very much a reality, the men's soccer squad is no longer content with sloppy play.
"Grateful to God, but poor performance, if I'm being honest," said Head Coach Roosevelt Peters. "We lost too many of our principles, but the boys fought in the second half to score, so you always give kudos to win ugly, but it was a really poor performance today, honestly."
Catch MBU Men's Soccer back on the home turf for a night game against Graceland University on Saturday, Oct. 17th.
