Bruins top Wildcats, 4-2; remain unbeaten

DENVER, Colo. -- The No. 14 Bellevue University men's soccer team continued their strong start to the season with a 4-2 victory over host Johnson & Wales on Saturday afternoon at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Senior skipper Jamie Henderson scored a pair of goals in the match as Bellevue remained unbeaten through three matches.

Henderson put Bellevue on the score sheet in the fifth minute with his first goal of the campaign. Fellow senior Tobias Maertzke sent a cross into the box and Henderson headed an attempt to the right past keeper Henry Huettel.

Senior Jonathon Callaghan doubled the BU advantage in the 21^st minute with his first goal in a Bruin uniform. Callaghan lined up a free kick from about 25 yards out and delivered a well-struck ball to the right and into the back of the net.

The Bruins took that 2-0 advantage into the halftime break while holding leads in shots (8-1), shots on goal (4-1), corner kicks (6-0), and offsides (2-0). Johnson & Wales was called for seven fouls while Bellevue was whistled for six.

Johnson & Wales got a goal back in the 48^th minute. Ivan Torres played a ball over the defense to Dalton Pando who headed the shot into the back of the net from 18 yards to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Bellevue faced a furious onslaught as the Wildcats attempted to get the equalizer. That effort by JWU went for naught as the Bruins got the clinching goal in the 84^th minute on an own goal by Johnson & Wales.

The Wildcats won a penalty kick in the 88^th minute when Pando stepped to the spot and delivered his second goal of the match. It was too little, too late for Johnson & Wales, especially as Henderson scored a last-minute goal, his second of the match. Henderson delivered a shot over the defense and keeper's head and into the back of the net to account for the final margin.

The Bruin defense, despite another strong effort, saw their regular-season shutout streak come to an end at 399 minutes and their shutout streak to begin the season stop at 248 minutes. Junior keeper Ben Martin stopped five of the seven shots he faced to record his third clean sheet. Martin saw his scoreless streak snapped at 387 minutes; it had dated back to a 2-1 victory over Westminster on Sept. 14, 2014.

For the match Bellevue out-shot the home side 12-10 – including a 8-7 edge in shots on target – while gaining seven corner kicks against just two for the Wildcats. The final foul count was 12 against the Bruins and 17 against Johnson & Wales. The Bruins are now 7-0-1 in the last eight regular-season matches.

Bellevue (2-0-1) returns to the pitch on Friday, Sept. 4 at 4 p.m. against (RV) Hope International at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah.