WICHITA, Kan. -- Juan Demichelis scored the lone goal of the game in the 55th minute to lift No. 1-ranked Dalton State University to a 1-0 win over No. 7-ranked Bellevue University men's soccer team in the NAIA Men's Soccer National Championship Quarterfinals.
With the victory, Dalton State improves to 20-0-2 on the year and advances to Saturday's Semifinal where they will meet the winner of MidAmerica Nazarene University and the University of the Cumberlands. Kick-off for that match is scheduled for 1 p.m.
BU ends their season with an overall record of 16-3-3.
The Bruins won the first dangerous free kick, about eight yards from the corner flag in the 11th minute. Jose-Miguel Boggio sent in a cross to Matias Daniel-Doren who saw his shot turned away by a defender. Coehen Rusin got his head to a second aerial ball came into the box but Monday's hero was turned away by keeper Nicolas Leite making a leaping save and redirecting the ball over the crossbar.
The 20th minute again saw Bellevue win a free kick in a dangerous area. Daniel-Doren took the kick just off the corner of the 18-yard box but his cross was turned away by Dalton State's back line.
Bellevue controlled much of the action going forward early one, piling up an early shot and corner kick advantage over the first 30 minutes. Dalton State seemed generally content to sit back while allowing BU to dominate time in possession, even in the attacking half, until the final five minutes of the half.
With the first half winding down, the Road Runners found some success going forward until a Bruin defender kicked the ball across the endline. The ensuing corner took a hop at the front edge of the box and skipped through before a Bruin clearance.
Dalton State stayed on the attack with some nifty footwork through the box, winning consecutive corners. Leonardo Seixas got a head to the second corner but Taariq Ganga came up with a big stop for the Bruins, punching the effort off the crossbar.
The game advanced to halftime scoreless with the teams even at four shots apiece, though Bellevue had three on goal to DSU's two and a slight 4-3 edge in corners.
Dalton State came out more attack-oriented in the second half with Juan Demichelis opening the scoring for the Roadrunners in the 51st minute. Mason Dalton sent in a cross and a mis-hit from Jip van den Essen saw the ball go to Demichelis who toed home his sixth goal of the season, low into the near corner.
After nudging ahead, and having allowed just seven goals all season, Dalton State was again content to defend and the Roadrunners kept things tight at the back in an effort to preserve their advantage.
Seeking an equalizer in the 84th minute, Daniel-Doren sent a cross from the near sideline towards the back post. Keeper Leite seemed to misplay the cross and it nearly led to the tying goal as it rang off the crossbar.
Bellevue had a couple of corner kicks in the final three minutes but were unable to generate any shots as the Roadrunners held on for the win.
