CHICKASHA, Okla. -- Jonas Starkus battled his way in the box to earn a difficult goal and guide the Bellevue University men's soccer team past University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma, 1-0, on Saturday evening in the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round.
Both sides played a pretty even first half as the game reached the locker rooms tied a 0-0 with each team managing four shots and one on goal. There was one good chance for each side in the opening 45 minutes.
For USAO, a ball landed at the feet of Stephen Owusu within the 18-yard box but his shot screamed wide of goal. For Bellevue a set piece into the box led to a series of headers in the direction of goal with the final attempt coming down against the far post before being cleared away from danger. Nearing the end of the first half Rob Smith nearly won a PK for Bellevue but what appeared to be a foul in the box went uncalled.
The second half saw Bellevue dominate possession in the attacking end and generating many near chances as a result of the creativeness of Smith on the attack. Bellevue's back line – Alan Carr, Lee Woolmore, Kenan Sahuric, and Jamie Henderson – along with holding midfielder Tobias Maertzke defended well, turning away numerous USAO chances before the Drovers could manage to get shots off.
Following a turnover in the midfield, Bellevue came away with possession and played a ball into the box that went untouched until reaching the far side of the field. From there JT Cronin passed the ball to Maertzke who sent a ball into the box that saw a couple of slight deflections before resting just outside of goal for Starkus to slide in past the keeper. The goal, in the 78th minute, was the fifth of the season for Starkus.
USAO mounted a number of furious rallies in the waning moments of the match but their crosses into the box were won, almost exclusively, by Bruin heads. Kyle Maxwell had the final shot of the night for the Droves, a good look on goal that went wide of net. The Drovers even won three corner kicks in the final 3:02 of the match.
Head Coach Matt Briggs:
"I think we were very good tonight defensively. USAO are very good and cause a lot of trouble with their talent but we did a good job of containing them in the box. We got a little lucky at times in the first half, but I think our work rate helped throughout the game."
"I didn't think we played our best tonight but that's in part to USAO on how well they pressured us. We need to do a better job of keeping possession of the ball moving forward."
The Bruins (12-3-4) reach the NAIA National Tournament Final Site for the second straight season and third time ever. Bellevue remains unbeaten against ranked opponents, improving to 2-0-3 on the season, and out-scoring such opponents by a 5-3 margin.
The Drovers (19-3-0) end their season after reach the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round for the seventh straight season.
With the victory, Bellevue advances to the NAIA National Tournament Final Site. They will take on Lindenwood-Belleville – who upset Northwestern Ohio, 2-1 – on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at a time yet to be announced.
