After snapping a five match winless streak on Tuesday afternoon, the Mid-Continent University men's soccer team (3-4-1) looked to complete the home-and-home sweep of the Williams Baptist College Eagles (1-8) on Saturday as a part of MCU's homecoming festivities. Thanks to a couple of great efforts, they did just that.
The Cougars tallied three goals in the final 11 minutes of the first half, and another just eight minutes after intermission, en route to a 4-2 win over the Eagles.
Each team recorded a dangerous chance early, with MCU's Jonatas Polesello and WBC's Hector Vera each making fine saves in the opening 10 minutes of the match. Mid-Continent had the better of the play early in the match, but in the middle stages of the period, Williams Baptist began to build some momentum. Just as it began to look like the Eagles would take control, Mid-Continent's Keagan Bacchus tallied his third goal of the week against the Eagles. Bacchus blasted home a shot from just outside the penalty area, sneaking the ball inside the left post to put Mid-Continent on top 1-0.
For the Cougars, that was only the beginning.
In the 42nd minute, former Paducah Tilghman High School standout Marco Galvan took a feed from Saint Marc Dukossi, dribbled through three defenders in the penalty area, and beat relief keeper Cody Jones for his first goal of the 2012 season, stretching the Mid-Continent lead to 2-0. Just 2:24 later, the pair combined again, with Galvan tallying his second goal of the half, and at intermission, Mid-Continent led 3-0.
Bacchus added his second goal of the match in the 53rd minute, beating Jones for his fifth goal of the year, and it looked as though Mid-Continent would cruise to victory. Williams Baptist, however, did not give up the fight. In the 69th minute, Victor Vouga got in behind the Cougars' defense and beat Polesello, getting the Eagles on the board and trimming the lead to 4-1. The Eagles then drew to within two in the 74th minute, when Henry Pineda intercepted a clearance attempt from Polesello and slid it into the back of the net, pulling Williams Baptist to within 4-2. That was as close as the Eagles were able to get, however, as it would be the final shot of the match for Williams Baptist. Drew Bennett and Jose Garcia each missed chances late in the match, but the Cougars hung on to win 4-2.
Polesello (1-2-1) earned the win in goal for Mid-Continent, while Hector Vera (0-4) took the loss in goal for the Eagles. Dukossi had two assists for the Cougars, with Erick Torres and Jonathan Alvarado each picking up a helper as well.
The Cougars will hit the road on Monday to take on the Cumberland University Bulldogs (1-7-1) in Lebanon, Tenn. at 3 p.m.