LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In a tightly contested conference battle at Legacy Fields on Saturday, October 10, 2026, the Spalding University men's soccer team secured a dramatic 1–0 victory over Westminster College (MO). Forward
Benit Mulume broke a scoreless deadlock in the 87th minute to lift the Golden Eagles past the Blue Jays.
With the victory, Spalding improved to 3–1–0 in SLIAC play (4–7–1 overall), while Westminster fell to 2–2–0 in conference (4–6–1 overall).
Both teams set a physical and defensive tone early in front of a crowd of the homecoming crow. Westminster generated early chances, forcing Spalding goalkeeper
Arthur Rudolphi into action right away with a shot on goal by Lucas Sottile in the 4th minute. Rudolphi remained sharp throughout the half, denying back-to-back chances from Gavin Hollowell and a high-velocity strike from Jack Hughes in the 32nd minute.
Spalding answered with pressure of their own late in the half, testing Westminster keeper Danny Monroy with shots on target from
Jose Huerta and
Semir Siljkovic, but both netminders kept clean sheets going into the break.
The second half saw continued end-to-end action, with Westminster pressing hard and accumulating seven second-half shots and five corner kicks. However, Spalding's back line—anchored by
Ethan Welsh,
William Anderson, and
Trey McCoomer—held firm to deny the Blue Jays any high-quality finishes.
With the match seemingly headed for a goalless draw, Spalding executed the decisive attack at 86:49. Defender
Trey McCoomer set up
Benit Mulume, who netted his fourth goal of the season past Monroy into the back of the net to give the Golden Eagles a 1–0 lead with just over three minutes remaining.
Spalding successfully defended the final stretch to secure the shutout win.
