BELLEVUE, Neb. -- The Bellevue University men's soccer team, in an offensive showcase, defeated Morningside College, 4-2, on Sunday afternoon at Bellevue Soccer Club. The victory snapped what had been a two-match winless streak for the Bruins.
Bellevue owned the first scoring chance of the match after earning a free kick in the third minute from around 30 yards out. Senior Alan Carr took the attempt and very nearly beat the keeper. His attempt was on track to sneak in under the crossbar until Carter Donahue deflected it over the bar out for a corner kick.
Despite dominating much of the possession in the opening 20 minutes the Bruins' chances were minimal until they broke through in the 27th minute. Sophomore Daniel Coupland played a ball in the box to classmate Rob Smith whose pass took a deflection into the air that senior Jamie Henderson headed home for a 1-0 advantage.
The Bruins mounted another attack just moments later, after winning a free kick. Freshman Travis Hurd played a short corner to Smith whose long ball into the box found Henderson at the back post. Henderson settled and delivered a pass to Coupland who unleashed a one-timer into the back of the net.
Morningside made the most of their first half opportunities. The Mustangs managed just two shots but put both on goal, scoring on their second opportunity, a free kick by Tom Karshuening from about 25 yards out to cut the deficit in half at 2-1.
Senior Tobias Maertzke restored Bellevue's two-goal advantage in the final minute of the first half. Henderson played a cross that Maertzke one-touched past the helpless keeper from just inside the 18-yard box.
Maertzke added a second goal in the opening minutes of the second half. Senior Kenan Sahuric played a long ball through the middle to Maertzke who had beaten the defense into the box and chipped a shot over the keeper for a 4-1 BU lead.
The Mustangs got a goal back in the 58th minute to pull within 4-2. Joao Soares played a cross into the box to Sebastian Schoon who beat the sliding BU keeper with a soft one-touch into the back of the net.
Junior Ben Martin made three stops in goal for the Bruins who out-shot Morningside by a margin of 30-7, including owning a 13-5 edge in shots on goal. Bellevue also out-gained the Mustangs in corner kicks, 8-3.
The 11th-ranked Bruins (6-2-2) return to action on Saturday, Oct. 3 with their North Star Athletic Association opener against Viterbo at 3 p.m. at Bellevue Soccer Club.
