Bruins Dominate Before Starting Conference Play
Updated: 5 hours ago
Belmont's men’s soccer team overwhelmed the University of St. Thomas in the team’s first-ever meeting with a 3-0 shutout Friday night.
The Bruins had a dominant first half, followed by a strong second half, for their third straight home victory and second shutout of the year.
“They wanted to be the aggressor, and we didn’t really need to chase the game. So we let them have the ball a lot more and just made sure we forced them,” said Belmont’s head coach David Costa. “We were prepared; we had the numbers to deal with it. So they weren’t really too bothered by it.”
In the 15th minute, freshman Judah McCloud scored his first career goal on a corner kick, putting the Bruins up 1-0.
Twenty minutes later, Belmont fifth-year Nate Mefford scored the second goal in the 35th minute, giving Belmont a 2-0 lead.
In the last 10 minutes of the first half, St. Thomas gained momentum by taking five shots. However, Belmont’s defense stayed strong, securing a first-half shutout.
Out of the five shots, Belmont's freshman goalkeeper Brody Sucher recorded three of his career-high seven saves.
About eight minutes into the second half, Belmont’s senior Lucas Wolthers scored the third goal in the 54th minute.
St. Thomas was unable to pick up any momentum and couldn’t find a way to put any points on the board.
The Bruins finished their first-ever matchup with St. Thomas in a 3-0 shutout with a season-high five assists.
Costa described St. Thomas as “a really dangerous team” and “well-coached.” He said even though his team had a 3-0 lead, there was never an opportunity to be comfortable.
The Bruins will be challenged to repeat their defensive performance as they travel to face the Drake Bulldogs in the first MVC match of the season on Saturday.
This article was written by Cormic Evans
Comments