OLIVET, Mich. – The Spring Arbor University men's soccer team used a pair of first half goals from juniors Stevenson Storm and Anthony Juncaj to defeat Olivet College 2-1 on Saturday night.
The victory was the third straight for the Cougars who improved to 3-0 on the season while the Comets dropped to 0-2.
Storm, the reigning Crossroads League Offensive Player of the Week, continued his torrid start scoring less than four minutes into the match to give SAU the early 1-0 advantage.
The Cougars struck again in the 26th minute. This time it was Juncaj, who punched in the rebound after the Olivet keeper stopped a strike from Jared Putt.
Juncaj was looking for his second goal late in the half after receiving a cross from Brendan Bell, but his shot went just over the crossbar, and the Cougars would take their 2-0 lead into the break.
Olivet cut the deficit in half just over three minutes into the second period when Cory Werner-Hoskins headed in a ball from close range, but that's as close as the Comets would get.
Spring Arbor goalkeepers Cobi Piper and Billy Irvine combined to make six saves on the night and Putt was credited with a pair of assists.
"The guys grinded it out today in an important match for us," said head coach Nathan Miller. "We didn't close the door on the match like we would have liked, and we have a long, long way to go as a team, but we are seeing great progress in areas and a tough mentality that we will need throughout the season. We love how hard these guys work for other."
The Cougars return home, following three road contests to open the season, to host Concordia University on Friday, Sept. 5 and Olivet Nazarene University on Saturday, Sept. 6 as part of the Cougar Showcase weekend.
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