BLUEFIELD, Va. – The Spring Arbor University men's soccer team built a 2-0 second half lead before holding off a late charge by Bluefield College in a 2-1 win on Saturday night.

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: Spring Arbor 2, Bluefield 1

LOCATION: Bluefield, Va.

RECORDS: Spring Arbor 2-0-0, Bluefield 0-1-0

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After a scoreless first half, sophomore Morris Kamara wasted little time putting the Cougars on top in the second period with his first goal of the season in the 47th minute.
• Spring Arbor was able to add a key insurance goal in the 79th minute. Freshman Jacob Crull delivered a perfect corner kick that found the head of fellow freshman Alex Sokalski, and Sokalski punched it past the Bluefield netminder.
• The Rams made things interesting, however, with a goal in the 84th minute, but SAU was able to hold on to earn its second win of the season.
• Crull finished the night with two assists, giving him three so far on the season.
• Senior goalkeeper Cobi Piper was big between the pipes making seven saves.
• The hosts outshot the Cougars 12-9, while both sides recorded four corner kicks apiece.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

• Tonight's match was the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
• The seven saves by Piper were the most in a single match since he registered 10 stops against Bethel College on Oct. 10, 2015.
• The goal by the Rams was the first scored against the Cougars in over 330 minutes of action dating back to last season.

FOR THE FOES

• Marian Mair scored the lone goal for the Rams in the 84th minute.
• Kyle Findlay and Jean-Emmanuel Ahouman led the home team with three shots apiece.
• Goalkeeper Sven Kleinhans finished the match with three saves.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH NATHAN MILLER

• "That's about as poor as we can play and expect to win a match. We couldn't circulate the ball like we do, couldn't get in the right spaces, it causes us to work a ton off the ball. Thankfully we did that and our defending from front to back was solid."
• "Morris led from the front and helped us create good opportunities. Great goal from him, then on our second, a well worked play from two freshmen who did a lot for us today."
• "We need to recover our bodies, fix some issues, and compete again against a very, very good side on Monday."

UP NEXT

Spring Arbor will continue its road trip with a stop at West Virginia Tech on Monday, Aug. 29. The match against the Golden Bears, who are receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25, is slated to begin at 7 p.m.

Men's Soccer Contact: Chris Bauman | 517-750-6504 | christopher.bauman@arbor.edu
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