OMAHA, Neb. - Three different players scored goals, including freshman Rob Smith (Lincoln, England) who netted the game-winner, as the Bellevue University men's soccer team claimed a 3-1 victory against visiting William Penn University on Wednesday night at Omaha South High Magnet School.
Following a tight affair for the first half, Smith put BU ahead in the 57th minute for good as he took senior Manuel Lira's (Guadalajara, Mexico) layoff pass and launched a beautiful curving shot just under the crossbar from 20 yards out for the 2-1 Bellevue advantage.
BU is now 4-1-1 on the season with the win and William Penn falls to 4-1-0. The Bruins remain unbeaten in their last five contests (4-0-1) and at home (2-0-0) on the season.
Sophomore David Goolsby (Bellevue, Neb.) opened the scoring for the Bruins in the 36th minute after several near-misses by junior Tobias Maertzke (Hamburg, Germany) and Lira. Goolsby took a well-threaded pass from Smith but his first attempt was deflected away by Statesmen keeper Mason Bandy. Goolsby collected the deflection and hammered home a hard shot into the back of an empty net from 10 yards out for his first career goal.
William Penn knotted things up in the 48th minute when Luiz Telez took possession off of a BU turnover as senior Scott Robertson (Burnley, England) was coming out to meet him. Telez launched a high-arcing shot from 22 yards out that bounced into the back of the deserted net.
Maertzke put the game away in the 87th minute with a penalty kick goal, his team-leading fifth of the season. The penalty kick came after Lira got taken down from behind while he had a clear scoring chance in the penalty box which saw the second William Penn player get disqualified from the match.
The Bruins held a 10-4 advantage in shots and gained two corner kicks compared to one for William Penn. Robertson only needed to make 1 save in goal to improve his record to 3-1-1 but he did see his scoreless streak come to an end at 300 minutes and 3 seconds.
Bellevue's next game will take place on Sunday, Sept. 14 at 3:00 p.m. against Westminster College at Tranquility Park in Omaha, Neb.
