WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Freshman Rob Smith (Lincoln, England) has developed quite the knack for notching game-winning goals this season. The English rookie scored his fourth game-winner of the season on Saturday in a 1-0 Bellevue University victory over Florida Memorial University.
The match was a tightly played affair which remained scoreless until Smith broke through in the 79th minute to give Bellevue their fourth victory in a row. After dropping the season-opener to No. 12 Grand View, Bellevue has gone unbeaten in their last eight to improve their record to 7-1-1 on the year. It is the longest the Bruins have gone without a loss since the 2012 season when that year's squad won eight straight from mid-September to mid-October. That team went on to post a final record of 10-8-1 and reached the final of the MCAC Tournament.
With his game-winner Smith is now tied with Corey Lopez of Indiana Wesleyan for second in the country in the category and just one behind Mount Mercy's Marco Fichtner. Overall, it was Smith's fifth goal of the year. He is second among Bruins in goals scored and tied with junior Tobias Maertzke (Hamburg, Germany) for the team lead with 14 points.
Senior Scott Robertson (Burnley, England) recorded his third shutout of the season to make Smith's goal stand.
The Bruins improve to 5-0-1 in games decided by one goal or less and 5-1-1 in games away from the friendly confines of Tranquility Park in North Omaha. The 1-0 victory also means that Bellevue is now 7-0-0 when scoring a goal this season.
BU will return to action on Wednesday, Sept. 24 when they host Morningside College in the second of two Bellevue soccer games at Tranquility Park in Omaha, Neb. The scheduled start time is 7:00 p.m. The BU women's team will kick off the double-header with a 5:00 p.m. tilt, also against the Mustangs.
