OMAHA, Neb. - Sophomore Murilo Ceruli (Sao Paulo, Brazil) broke a scoreless tie in the 67rh minute as the Ashford University men's soccer team defeated Bellevue University by a count of 1-0 on Saturday afternoon in this week's NAIA Men's Soccer Game of the Week.
The loss snapped a nine-match unbeaten streak for Bellevue and drops them to 8-2-1 on the year while Ashford improves to 6-1-3 this season.
Ashford broke the scoreless deadlock in the 67th minute. Senior Lee Hughes (Old Colwyn, Wales) played a ball to sophomore Murilo Ceruli (Sao Paulo, Brazil) who snuck a touch underneath the diving body of senior keeper Scott Robertson (Lincolnshire, England) at the top of the box. A second touch gave Ceruli complete separation and he let a touch go into the recently vacated net for his first goal of the season.
The first scoring chance of the match came in the fifth minute, following a lengthy period of possession by the Saints, when Ashford senior Caio Ruiz (Sao Paulo, Brazil) unleashed a low and hard shot from just inside the 18-yard box to the right of goal. The ball, will good movement and pace on it, was deflected away by Robertson for a corner and keep the game scoreless.
Bellevue had a terrific opportunity of their own in the 20th minute on their first corner kick of the match. Freshman Rob Smith (Lincoln, England) delivered a bending ball into the box that found the hell of junior center back Alan Carr (Lincolnshire, England) but his attempt went over the crossbar.
Two minutes later the Bruins got their first shot on goal when senior Manuel Lira (Guadalajara, Mexico) hit a volley out of the air into the chest of senior keeper Chris Higgins (Glasgow, Scotland). The ensuing break saw Ashford senior Javier Ramirez (Hidalgo, Mexico) take a shot but his attempt deflected off the crossbar.
Ramirez had another quality chance in the 28th minute after taking a pass inside the box. Robertson slipped on his way out to cut down the angle but recovered in time to make the save with his chest and pick up the rebound to direct play back towards midfield.
The 52nd minute saw the first scoring chance of the second half. Ashford junior Adam Wood played a back heel touch to Ceruli. Ceruli found himself all alone with Robertson but his attempt rolled wide of the net and the game remained level at 0-0.
It took until the 68th minute but BU got their first chance of the second half. Junior Tobias Maertzke (Hamburg, Germany) played a ball into box but senior Kristopher McFadyen (Glasgow, Scotland) couldn't get control of the pass and the ball deflected to Higgins.
After the Saints struck in the 67th minute they seemed reinvigorated and controlled much of the possession for the next seven minutes with Bellevue having to play defensively for the majority of that time.
Ashford had a golden chance to double their advantage after Ramirez threaded a pass to Wood who weaved in and out of the defense to get open. His shot was saved by Robertson and kept BU's hopes alive.
Both Smith and McFadyen had chances ahead of the 80 minute mark for the Bruins. Smith was at the top of box after getting around a pair of defenders but his shot was blocked in the 79th minute. Shortly after McFadyen got a pass just inside the box with time to settle but his attempt went wide of goal without challenging Higgins.
Bellevue gained a corner kick in the 84th minute where Smith played a high ball across the box that was headed away by the Saints to thwart the danger. Their corner in the 87th minute produced slightly better results with Smith's cross finding the head of sophomore David Goolsby (Bellevue, Neb.) but his header was caught by Higgins and the Bruins were, once again, denied.
Bellevue had a last-gasp effort, winning a corner with 33 seconds to play, Goolsby's cross just mid the heads of several BU players, including Robertson who abandoned the goal to provide the Bruins an extra attacker.
Ashford held a 14-9 advantage in shots for the match but were outgained in corners by a count of 7-4.
Bellevue will return to the pitch on Wednesday, Oct. 15 when they travel to McPherson, Kan. for their MCAC-opener against Central Christian College.
Ashford will play next on Saturday, Oct. 11 at Mount Mercy University with game time set for 1:00 p.m.
