BLACK MOUNTAIN N.C.¾ The Montreat men's soccer team defeated Columbia College (S.C.) on Wednesday evening, leaving the Koalas with a 4-9-0 (1-8-0 AAC) record. With the 3-0 win at Pulliam Stadium, the Cavaliers improved to 6-6-1 overall and 5-3-0 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC).
The match started off strong as both teams put up a solid defense to prevent the other from scoring. However, due to a handball tackle from the goalkeeper
Marius Braedstrup-Holm outside the box in the 33rd minute, the Cavs had to play with only 10 men on the field. Freshman
Frankie Zavala from El Salvador was brought in to replace him.
Despite this setback, the Cavaliers continued to fight and managed to score a goal in the 35th minute.
Rodrigo Jimenez scored off a cross with assists from
Zeljko Stanojevic and
Ethan Grasso for his sixth goal of the season. At halftime the score stood at 1-0, with the Koalas taking the lead in shots (7-5), but the Cavs managed to prevent Columbia from scoring.
The first half of the game was eventful, but the second half was even more intense as both teams fought hard to score goals. In the 70th minute, Montreat scored another goal thanks to Grasso's successful attempt with a double assist from
Alex Klymenko and
Miodrag Bankovic, extending the lead to 2-0.
Zavala, who replaced Braedstrup-Holm, made four saves and prevented Columbia from scoring. In the final minutes of the game, Klymenko scored another goal for the Cavaliers, passing Columbia's goalkeeper, Brayden Garcia, and hitting the ball with his left foot into the goal in the 83rd minute, making the final score 3-0 in favor of Montreat.
Despite losing 3-0, the Koalas had 17 shots compared to the Cavaliers' nine but failed to match their score. Montreat had eight corner kicks and the Cavs had six total saves.
"The guys played with so much character and fight tonight to pull out this win," noted head coach
Michael Bruce. "It was difficult circumstances after the early red card, but the guys fought for everything and deservedly won the game. Tonight's performance said a lot about our team spirit."
Catch the men's soccer team in action as Montreat hosts Milligan University this Saturday. Kickoff is at 5 p.m.
