LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Spalding men's soccer hosted conference opponent Blackburn College at Legacy Fields on Saturday afternoon. SU rode a second half surge to a 5-1 victory over the Beavers.

Spalding extended their conference win streak to three games and improved their record to 6-3-2 (3-0 SLIAC). Blackburn fell to 2-5-4 (1-1-1 SLIAC) on the season.

TURNING POINT
Following the women's team's thrashing of the same opponent, the Spalding men wanted to have a similar day. Eddie Mendez-Perez tried to be the igniter for the Golden Eagles, but his shot just 65 seconds into the game pinged off the crossbar and out of play. SU had a few more chances throughout the first 20 minutes of action, but neither team could find a way past the opposing keeper. In the 21st minute, Blackburn scored the opening goal on a fast break opportunity that led to some confusion for the SU backline. The teams battled for the rest of the half but neither keeper let any more goals go by despite some excellent attempts from both sides. Blackburn led at the interval 1-0.

The saying goes, "don't poke the bear." In this case, it should have been, "don't poke the Golden Eagles." Spalding came out of the halftime break on a tear. Mustafa Almohammedawi added to his conference-leading goal total just 50 seconds into the second half off an assist from Mendez-Perez. SU continued applying pressure to the Beavers which led to Ethan Eckert drawing a foul in the box. Jose Huerta stepped up and buried the spot kick before having to retake the kick due to an infraction by the Blackburn defense. Huerta, never phased, nailed the ball past the keeper for a second time in the same spot to take a 2-1 lead in the 56th minute. Later, Mendez-Perez played a timely ball to Eckert who took a hard shot at the Blackburn keeper. Although the keeper made a strong save, the ball found its way to Almohammedawi's feet yet again for his second goal of the match. The Spalding defense stepped up after that, thwarting chance after chance as goalkeeper Micah Mattes made three saves over the next six minutes. In the 73rd minute, things got a bit wacky. Chris Mboyo found himself with space down the right flank and played a driven pass into the box. The Blackburn keeper made a good effort at the ball, but misplayed it, leaving the ball mere feet from the goal line. The Beaver defense attempted to clear it, but heavy duress from the Spalding attack led to the ball being played off of a defender's leg into the back of the net for an own goal. Later, freshman Tyler Smith put a bow on this one, running on to a beautiful pass from Jamie Seago that left Smith 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper. Smith scored his second goal of a promising freshman campaign and Seago collected his first assist as a Golden Eagle. A dominant second half pushed SU past the Beavers with a final score of 5-1.

GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES

• Mustafa Almohammedawi tallied a brace, taking the conference lead for goals scored.
• Eddie Mendez-Perez contributed two assists in the match.
• Micah Mattes saved six Blackburn shots.
• Spalding had more shots (20-12), shots on target (12-7), and more corners (5-2) than the Beavers.

NEXT FOR SPALDING
Spalding hits the road for their next game as they head to Fulton, Missouri, to take on the Blue Jays of Westminster. The Golden Eagles will look to continue their unbeaten run in conference play. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 PM on Thursday, October 10th.