BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.— The Montreat men's soccer team started its Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) campaign on Saturday afternoon, scoring a trio of goals in the process to defeat the Truett McConnell University Bears by a 3-1 score in Black Mountain, N.C. With the victory, the Cavaliers improved to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in conference action.
 
With nearly all the possession early in the contest, the Cavaliers put themselves in a good position through the opening minutes. Andy Del Angel registered the contest's initial shot on target in the fourth minute, nearly sneaking a wayward cross into the upper right corner. A quarter of an hour later, the Cavs broke through.
 
Mark Bomfim set Montreat's opening goal up in the 29^th minute by delivering a pass to Ethan Kerns on the right side of the attacking third. With time and space, Kerns turned toward the center of the field and located a surging Hugo Rodriguez, who blasted a shot from 20 yards out on his first touch. Rodriguez's strike was perfectly placed, soaring past the Truett McConnell goalkeeper into the upper right corner for the 1-0 Cavalier lead.
 
Just 122 seconds later, Montreat doubled its advantage. With all the momentum, the Cavs countered quickly off a TMU giveaway in the attacking third. Ricardo Araujo flipped the field in an instant with a cross from left to right, putting the ball in an ideal position for Bomfim, who was all alone on the near side. From there, Bomfim slipped a pass to Ricardo Madan, who was making a run to the near post. Madan then tucked a shot between the near post and the Truett McConnell goalie into the netting, handing Montreat a 2-0 edge in the process.
 
While Truett McConnell held a slim lead in shots taken (8-7), the Cavaliers created more dangerous chances and converted those opportunities in the first half. Through 45 minutes, Marius Braedstrup-Holm had three saves to keep the Bears off the board.
 
Needing a pair of goals to equalize, Truett McConnell (2-1-1, 0-1) spent the majority of second half on the front foot. In the 73^rd minute, the Bears finally found their way onto the scoresheet thanks to quick reactions on a set piece. A TMU corner kick pinballed around the Cavalier penalty area, and while the Cavs couldn't clear the danger, Seth Martinez and Jose Ventura each got a flick on the ball. Those touches found Max Farris, who poked home a goal from just a few yards out to halve the Bears' deficit.
 
Undeterred by TMU's new-found life, Montreat restored its two-goal advantage less than three minutes later. Araujo slid a pass to Bomfim at the edge of the six-yard box, where Bomfim was immediately taken down by a Truett McConnell defender. The foul resulted in a Cavalier penalty kick, and Araujo calmly sent the keeper the wrong way as he guided a shot into the left side of the net. Araujo's 76^th-minute goal wrapped up the scoring for both sides as the Cavs scored a trio of goals for the second consecutive match, opening their AAC campaign with a 3-1 triumph.
 
"It was great to start off conference play with a victory, especially against such tough opposition," said head coach Michael Bruce. "The team played extremely well in the first half, and we were able to capitalize on some good opportunities.
 
The Bears held statistical edges on the Cavaliers in shots (20-11), shots on goal (9-6) and corner kicks (10-6), but the Cavaliers won on the scoreboard by finishing their chances and getting a strong showing in net from Braedstrup-Holm, who made seven saves.
 
"I am happy to see our offense start to click and put away some goals," Bruce added. "We must work hard to put together a complete performance for the entire 90 minutes of the game, and we hope to do that on Tuesday against St. Andrews."
 
The Montreat men's soccer team swings through Laurinburg, N.C. for its next contest on Tuesday at St. Andrews University. Kickoff is set for 4:00 p.m.