OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Inaki Aldao scored less than three minutes into the game but the Bellevue University men's soccer team was unable to make the early lead stand as the Bruins dropped their third-straight game, 2-1, to Mid-America Christian University on Saturday afternoon at Evangel Field.
Records:
Bellevue: 4-3-0
Mid-America Christian: 2-0-0
Recap: MACU 2, BU 1
Rodrigo Albuquerque converted a 90th minute penalty kick to lift the Evangels to a 2-1 comeback victory over BU.
Inaki Aldao put the Bruins on the board in the third minute, heading John Cover's corner kick into the left side of the net. The goal by Aldao was his team-leading ninth of the year.
Host side Mid-America Christian got on the front foot for the remainder of the half, holding the majority of possession and out-shooting the Bruins 8-5 in the period.
MACU came up unlucky on a pair of quality scoring chances in the first half with Albuquerque ringing the post with his 31st minute strike and Harry Wray making a pair of stops big stops less than 30 seconds later. Wray knocked down Albuquerque's initial attempt and corralled Pero Mikulic's follow-up to keep the Bruins in front.
Bellevue looked to go ahead 2-0 in the 41st minute as the ball wound up in the back of the net off Toby Millward's corner kick but BU was called for a foul and the goal waved off.
The Evangels equalized in the 66th minute on a strike from Pero Mikulic. Dante Luz delivered a pass to Mikulic who fired a shot in from 10 yards out from just right of the center of the box off the cross.
BU and Mid-America Christian remained tied and appeared destined for overtime until a late whistle saw the penalty awarded to MACU.
The Evangels finished with a 15-8 advantage in shots (6-4 on goal). Wray made four saves for the Bruins while Juan Ceidel stopped three BU attempts for MACU.
Coach Mark Heath-Preston:
"It was a tough loss for the team. A gift of a goal and a terrible decision was the difference. They were a good team but we didn't allow them to hurt us in the second half. The situation we have with so many away games puts a strain on the players, especially when you're playing top teams. We will continue to fight and battle and improve. The only way to improve is to compete against the best teams and that's what we will continue to do."
Up Next:
Bellevue is next scheduled to play at Briar Cliff University on Friday, Oct. 9. Kick-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. from Faber Field.
