KNOXVILLE, Tenn.— The Montreat men's soccer team went on the road to face the Johnson University-Tennessee Royals in an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) contest Saturday afternoon. In the end, the Cavaliers collected an important 5-3 victory to improve to 6-9-1 overall and 5-6-1 in AAC play with only one league competition left this season.
 
The visitors controlled the match from the opening kick, immediately looking to capitalize on a plethora of scoring chances and shot attempts. In the initial 25 minutes alone, the Cavs collected seven tries at goal, with four landing on target, while also producing five corner kicks during the time. Johnson (1-12-1, 0-10-1 AAC) was held shotless over the same span as the Cavaliers hemmed the Royals into their own half.
 
The latter portion of the first frame resulted in a flurry of goals as the teams finally broke through. Ricardo Araujo gave the Cavaliers their initial advantage of the game thanks to his strike in the 26^th minute. Though Johnson equalized only 1:31 later, Araujo restored Montreat's 1-goal edge thanks to his second tally of the game and team-leading ninth score of the year less than a minute after the Royals' goal.
 
Araujo then gave the Cavs some breathing space by completing his first-half hat-trick, netting a feed from Marco Oyarzo to put the visitors up 3-1 with 4:18 on the clock before the half. The Cavaliers dominated play in the opening period, resulting in a 16-3 shot advantage, a 9-1 edge in shots on target and a 6-1 lead in corner kicks taken through 45 minutes.
 
The second half seemed more balanced; however, neither team found the back of the net until over 30 minutes into the frame. Similar to the first period of action, once the goals started, they didn't stop until the final whistle.
 
Hugo Rodriguez padded the Montreat lead with his fifth goal of the season in the 77^th minute and, in the ensuing minute, an own goal stretched the Cavalier advantage to four as the Cavs led 5-1 with 12:30 remaining in the contest.
 
Although the Cavalier defense surrendered a pair of late Johnson goals, the visitors held on for a vital 5-3 triumph. Montreat outshot JU 26-13, including 18-6 on goal, at the final buzzer. The Cavs registered nine corners to the Royals' four, while Christian Olaya, who played the second half in net for the Cavaliers, tallied all three saves for the team on the day.
 
"Today was an important win. It was great to get this win and give ourselves a platform for the end of the season," stated head coach Michael Bruce. "We look forward to wrapping up conference play on Wednesday and securing our place in the conference tournament," he added.
 
Men's soccer concludes AAC action on Wednesday with a road match at Reinhardt University, who is receiving votes in the NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll. Kickoff in Waleska, Ga. is slated for 6:30 p.m.