SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – The Spring Arbor University men's soccer team defeated Madonna University 3-1 on Monday night, scoring two second half goals, to hand the previously unbeaten Crusaders their first loss of the season.

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: Spring Arbor 3, Madonna 1

LOCATION: Cougar Soccer Complex | Spring Arbor, Mich.

RECORDS: Spring Arbor 4-2-0, Madonna 4-1-0

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Spring Arbor scored a crucial goal in the closing seconds of the first half to break a scoreless deadlock. A beautiful cross from Roland Gibson found the head of Lewis Jones, who put the ball in the back of the net with 58 seconds left on the clock.
• Madonna leveled the score with penalty kick in the 56th minute.
• The Cougars responded with a strike from Baba Valdmanis in the 61st minute. Morris Kamara slipped a pass to Valdmanis at the top of the 18-yard box, and after weaving his way around two MU defenders, fired a shot past the goalkeeper to the far post.
• Kamara added an insurance goal in the 87th minute with an assist from Jake Sterling.
• The shot totals were close with Spring Arbor holding a slight 15-14 advantage while the Crusaders earned four corner kicks to SAU's two.
• Isiah Handspike matched his season-high with five saves.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

• Madonna had not lost to Spring Arbor in the previous four matchups before Monday's clash.
• Kamara scored his ninth goal of the season, which not only leads the Crossroads League, but also ranks third in the NAIA. The junior forward has scored at least one goal in six of the team's seven matches this season.
• Spring Arbor currently leads the league in goals scored this season with 21. The Cougars are on pace for a record scoring year.

FOR MADONNA

• Hector Morales scored the lone goal for Madonna. Morales also logged five of the Crusaders' 14 shots.
• Goalkeeper Joe Smith finished with five saves.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH NATHAN MILLER

• "That was a really good performance from the guys against a really tough and well-organized opponent. They are a really good counterattacking team so we had to be very disciplined and switched on."
• "Scoring late in the first half was critical for sure, and other than the first 15 minutes of the second half we really did a great job with our vertical possession."
• "Very proud of the guys on their grit and attitude this past week. They are also expressing themselves on the field and playing with a lot of confidence"

UP NEXT

Spring Arbor will host Aquinas College (5-1-0) on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 7 p.m.

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