Box Score

The Spalding University Men's Soccer team fell to Alma College in their season opener, losing 4-0 on a hot Friday afternoon at Champions Trace Park in Louisville, Kentucky.

Alma struck first when they scored off a long throw-in at the 13:26 mark in the first half. Goalkeeper Logan Spencer made the initial save on the play but the rebound from Julian Birge fell through defender Deron Buehner's legs.

SU's best chance in the first half came off a header from Abdullahi Abdullahi on a corner kick from Julio De Leon with under five minutes remaining.

Stephen Hubert had a left-footed shot sail high early in the second half before Alma struck again. Forward Zach Vandeveer capitalized on a miscommunication in the Spalding defense to rocket a left-footed shot into the upper-90 just 14 minutes into the half.

Then just three minutes later, Alma put their third goal away. Spencer made another initial save before staying down injured on the play. The referee allowed play to continue and Alma's Michael Smith took advantage for his first goal of the game.

Fifteen minutes later, Spalding surrendered their fourth goal of the afternoon. Tyler Raab tallied the goal of an assist from Graham Wallace.

Spalding outshot Alma 18-16 on the afternoon, while Alma held a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks.

"We allowed Alma to win too many 50/50 balls today," Head Coach Adam Boyer commented. "Their physicality and direct play threw us off our game. We need to take ownership in these situations and couple the talent within our team with a determined work ethic and relentless desire to win," he continued.

"Most importantly, we must learn from our mistakes, move on as a team, and begin to focus on Monday's game at Berea. I expect we'll see a much-improved performance from the team from the first whistle. We're looking forward to the game and the opportunity to earn our first win of the season," he finished.

Men's Soccer returns to action when they travel to Berea College on Monday, September 2nd for a game at 7:00pm. Follow @Spalding_Soccer on Twitter for live updates during the game.