LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Spalding men's soccer hosted Mount St. Joseph on Saturday evening. The Golden Eagles were victorious, defeating the visiting Lions 3-2.
Spalding moved to 3-2-1 on the season, while MSJ fell to 0-5-0.
TURNING POINT
The game opened with a back and forth mentality through the first five minutes of action. Possession shifted between the two teams, but no real chances were had until Spalding drew a corner in the fourth minute of play. It resulted in a very solid strike by
Jose Huerta that was met with an even better save by the MSJ keeper. Spalding could smell the blood in the water. It would not be long until their second attempt at breaking the tie. In the 11th minute, SU won another corner, but this one yielded more success. A beautiful ball into the box from
Ethan Eckert found its way to
Kevin Mulume who calmly slotted home his first goal of the season. MSJ controlled possession after the goal, but it was clear that Spalding was waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike again. In the 17th minute, that opportunity arose thanks to an incisive lobbed through ball from center back
Oliver Frankenfeld to the ever-dangerous
Mustafa Almohammedawi. The pass played from Spalding's defensive half found Almohammedawi perfectly in stride. The junior found his way around the keeper and passed the ball into the net, doubling the SU lead. For the remainder of the half, the Golden Eagles were comfortable with the Lions holding the metaphorical "lion's share" of possession, allowing the visitors only two shots. Spalding carried the 2-0 lead into the halftime intermission.
After an apparently encouraging halftime talk, MSJ came out of the break firing on all cylinders. The Lions drew three corners and took five shots on target in the first three minutes of the second half. Golden Eagles goalkeeper
Micah Mattes did his best Gandalf impersonation, turning away each of the MSJ shots and telling the Lions that they shall not pass his line. This energized the SU attack and led to them marching down the field towards the MSJ goal. In the 52nd minute, an impressive pass from
Samuel Mulume found Almohammedawi's feet and led to a shot on the MSJ keeper who made a reactionary save. Fortunately for Spalding,
Kevin Mulume was there to clean up the mess, scoring his second goal of the game with assist credits going to both Sam and Mustafa. MSJ wasted no time getting back on the attack however, scoring their first goal of the game less than 30 seconds after the kickoff. A short while later, MSJ drew a foul in the Golden Eagle's box. The Lions found the back of the net from the penalty spot to bring the scoreline to 3-2 in favor of SU as the scoreboard neared the hour mark. The back and forth battle from the first five minutes of the contest resumed with possession changing hands up until the 78th minute of play. By this time, Spalding was able to not only halt the MSJ momentum, but swing it back in their favor to close out the game. The Golden Eagles wrapped this one up, taking the win at home, 3-2.
GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES
NEXT FOR SPALDING
Spalding will get to stay at home again this week, hosting a midweek matchup against in-state foe Berea College. Kickoff for this match is scheduled for 7:30 PM on Wednesday, September 18th.
