PAPILLION, Neb. -- Inaki Aldao scored twice to tie the program's career goal-scoring record to lead the No. 13 Bellevue University men's soccer team to a 5-0 victory over Midland University on Saturday evening in the Bruins' final tune-up before postseason play.
Bellevue scored twice in the early going with Gabriel Gaiotto and Toby Millward both finding the back of the net in the first half.
Oumar Sissoko assisted on the Gaiotto strike in the fourth minute while Millward converted his ninth penalty in the 12th minute.
The Bruins took that lead, along with a 6-3 edge in shots into halftime.
Just shy of the hour mark Inaki Aldao scored his first goal of the day off a pass from John Cover to pad the BU lead.
Aldao found the milestone goal in the 79th minute after chasing down a long ball from Sissoko and beating the keeper one-on-one for his 20th goal of the year and 45th in his career.
Alex Cuenca added an 83rd minute tally to account for the final margin.
AJ Jarvis stopped one of two shots on target, with a team save credited on the other, to keep a clean sheet.
Matthew Ricci made five saves for Midland as the Warriors were out-shot 15-9 on the evening.
Prior to the match, Bellevue seniors Inaki Aldao and Juvenal Jacinto were both honored for their contributions to the BU program as part of the annual Senior Day ceremonies.
Man of the Match:
Inaki Aldao – Matched the program's career goals scoring record, equaling Mark Heath-Preston's mark of 45 and became just the second Bruin to eclipse the 100-point mark with now 101 in his career.
Coach Mark Heath-Preston:
"An emotional game for the boys with it being Inaki and Juve's last home game. They have both given so much in their time here at Bellevue. We started bright and scored early with Inaki almost getting the bicycle kick off the throw in. Alex Cuenca, Zach Robbins, and Toby Millward were unplayable in the middle and helped us create multiple chances. I'm really happy with the result but also the way we played going into an important weekend in Georgia in two weeks."
Up Next:
Bellevue returns to the pitch on Friday, Apr. 9 in the semifinal round of the A.I.I. Tournament, hosted by Georgia Gwinnett College, in Lawrenceville, Ga. Match-ups and kick-off times are expected to be announced within the next few days.
