McPHERSON, Kan. - Three different players scored goals as the Bellevue University men's soccer team claimed a 3-0 victory over Central Christian College in their Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference-opener on Wednesday evening. With the victory Bellevue (9-2-1, 1-0-0 MCAC), ranked No. 21 in the latest NAIA Coaches' Poll, is now a perfect 9-0-0 against unranked teams this season while Central Christian falls to 6-4-1 (0-1-1 MCAC) on the year.
The first half was played to a scoreless tie despite the Bruins out-shooting the Tigers by a wide 12-2 margin in the opening 45 minutes.
Freshman Rob Smith (Lincoln, England) opened the scoring for the Bruins in the 53rd minute when he scored from right of the penalty spot. Smith took a pass from junior Tobias Maertzke (Hamburg, Germany) and beat keeper Luis Soto for his team co-leading seventh goal of the season. For Smith, it was his conference-leading fifth game-winner of the season.
Sophomore Lee Woolmore (Norfolk, England) doubled the Bellevue advantage in the 71st minute with a shot from deep to make it 2-0 in favor of the Bruins. The goal was the second of the season for Woolmore, tops among Bellevue defenders.
Senior Manuel Lira (Guadalajara, Mexico) added an insurance goal, his third of the year, in the 86th minute to preserve the victory. The shot by Lira came from a nearly identical spot to the one that Smith scored from earlier in the match.
Bellevue out-shot the home-standing Tigers by a 21-5 margin, including holding an 8-1 edge in shots on goal. Senior goalkeeper Scott Robertson (Burnley, England) only needed to make one save to improve his record to 6-2-1 this season with his fourth clean sheet of the campaign.
Bellevue will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 18 when they host No. 7 Oklahoma Wesleyan University at Tranquility Park in Omaha, Neb. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and will follow the Bellevue women's soccer team's 1:00 p.m. game, also against Oklahoma Wesleyan.
