Robert Als and Robert Boyd both scored in the final 12 minutes and Cumberland posted a hard-fought 3-1 victory Friday afternoon over Kentucky Wesleyan in men’s soccer action at the CU Soccer Field.
The match was very physical and saw 23 fouls and four red cards, including two for KWC’s Luke Church. Cumberland controlled play for much of the match, especially the second half, and outshot the Panthers, 16-10, in the victory.
KWC netted the first goal of the match, in the 17th minute. A.J. Roberto made a long throw from deep in the corner and after a scramble near the net, Mitch Jones punched in the bouncing ball for a 1-0 Panthers lead.
The Bulldogs tied the match in the 35th minute. After a corner kick, Yue Wang lofted a left-footer from 15 yards into the upper 90.
CU had the better scoring chances in the second half, though none were great until Henderson and Boyd played a nice combo to Als, who beat KWC keeper Ryan Samuels low and right for his first goal of the year.
Kyle Wood missed a chance to tie the match for KWC in the 84th minute when his header sailed high over an empty net after CU keeper Michael Mikailidis came out of the net after a long cross.
Henderson then played a 25-yard pass through to Boyd 10 minutes later and the junior buried a left-footed one-timer past Samuels for the final goal of the match.
Cumberland hosts Lambuth next Friday at the CU Soccer Field at 4 p.m., the second of four home matches this month for the Bulldogs.