BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. — The Montreat College men's soccer team dropped a 2-0 decision to the No. 19-ranked Union Commonwealth University Bulldogs on Monday night in an Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) showdown at Pulliam Stadium. A pair of second-half tallies carried the visitors past the hosts in Black Mountain, N.C. With the result, the Cavaliers moved to 2-2-1 (0-2-0 AAC) on the year, while UCU climbed to 5-1-0 (1-0-0 AAC).
Montreat's first-half story centered on weathering Union Commonwealth's pressure from the 13
th minute to the 24
th minute, a scoreless stretch in which
Frankie Zavala made three saves and the visitors came away empty on three corners and four shots. Earlier in the frame, the Cavs created their own chances, with
Ethan Grasso having a shot blocked just over seven minutes in,
Ricardas Milasius sending an attempt high at the 8:41 mark and
Emmanuel Ntimeh getting blocked in the 11
th minute.
Settling back into the matchup, the hosts resumed finding looks during the middle of the period, including additional attempts from Grasso, Milasius and Ntimeh, all prior to the Bulldogs forcing a fourth Zavala save nearly 26 minutes into the contest.
Jose Solano added a shot with roughly 10 minutes remaining in the half, and the Cavaliers handled a late UCU corner to enter the intermission level at 0-0.
The home side pieced together a quick attacking stretch after halftime, with
Uros Markovic and
Emilio Ruiz registering shots and Milasius forcing the Bulldogs' first save of the night. Zavala helped keep the match scoreless for as long as he could, recording another stop and surviving a few sequences of pressure by the visitors; however, Union Commonwealth eventually discovered its breakthrough. A well-directed header in the midfield set up the initial strike with 16:16 left in regulation, and a quick free kick coupled with a pair of passes made another tally possible just 4:01 later.
After falling behind by a pair of goals, the Cavs pushed forward again, but UCU's defense prevented anything from landing on target. Ntimeh had another try blocked, while both Grasso and Milasius missed left on their attempts. In the end, the 19
th-ranked Bulldogs managed to seal their 2-0 shutout triumph.
Union Commonwealth attempted a few more shots than Montreat over the course of the contest (19-14), but the visitors proved to be more successful in placing those looks on target, maintaining an 8-1 edge in shots on goal. The Bulldogs also totaled more corner kicks (8-2) and fouls (21-17), while the hosts ended the night with more saves (6-1).
Zavala tallied all six of those saves over 90 minutes in net. Milasius and Ntimeh paced the team with four shots, while the former was the only Cavalier to direct a try on goal. Grasso added three shots.
"I am proud of the way the guys played tonight," said Head Coach
Michael Bruce. "They fought extremely hard and played with some real quality. We have to translate the times we are on top into goals, and we are looking forward to doing that this Saturday."
The Montreat College men's soccer team continues league play on Saturday, Sept. 19, when it travels to Spartanburg, S.C., for a meeting with the Spartanburg Methodist College Pioneers. Kickoff is slated for 4:30 p.m.
