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Box Score 2 NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Belmont men's soccer team (1-1-0) scored first, but ended up dropping the 2011 home-opener by a score of 3-2 to Memphis (2-0-0) on Thursday night. Senior Edgardo Padilla (Grapevine, Texas) and sophomore Nico Olsak (Boca Raton, Fla.) scored unassisted goals in the defeat.
The Bruins dominated possession throughout the first half, and had plenty of scoring opportunities early on, but it wasn't until the 32nd minute that Belmont got on the board. Senior Will Moorad (Brentwood, Tenn.) made a run in behind the defense towards the ball, and was taken out by Tiger goalkeeper Conor Hurley. After calling a foul and handing out a yellow card, the referee awarded Belmont a penalty kick.
Padilla stepped up to the penalty spot and beat the keeper to the top left corner on the first PK attempt of the senior captain's career. It marked his fifth career goal and first of the season.
"We had a series of good possessions before our first goal," Davidson continued. "We were putting them under pressure, which forced them to play tight in the back. Will [Moorad] got in behind the defense, causing their keeper to foul him, and Edgardo [Padilla] capitalized on the penalty kick."
The Bruins went into the break holding on to that 1-0 lead, but Memphis tied it up only 11 minutes into the second frame. The Tigers took a quick corner and crossed the ball into the box, where Lewis Ellis headed the ball into the net at the near post.
Belmont countered less than four minutes later to take a 2-1 lead in the 60th minute of play. After another Memphis foul set BU up with a free kick just outside the box, Olsak took the set piece, as he does almost every time in the offensive third. The sophomore bent his shot over the defending wall and inside the near post for his sixth career score.
"We spend a lot of time on set pieces," Davidson said. "Nico [Olsak] did a great job of reading what the goalkeeper was doing, and tucked it away very nicely. It was a great goal for Nico."
Memphis began to gain more of the possession as the second half wound down, and they garnered a number of free kicks in their offensive end. The Tigers scored their final two goals off of a throw in and a set piece just outside the box. For the first, in the 76th minute, the ball was thrown in to Andreas Guentner, who crossed the ball into the box. Mark Sherrod got his head on it and put it away to tie the game at 2-2.
The Tigers took their first and final lead of the game 12 minutes and 30 seconds later when they were award yet another direct kick. Liam Collins slid the ball through the Belmont defense and straight into the side panel of the goal, giving Memphis a 3-2 lead with only 2:30 left on the clock.
Memphis outshot Belmont 17-10, and recorded six corners to BU's zero. Hurley finished with five saves for the Tigers, while junior Lou Manning (Southlake, Texas) picked up three for the Bruins, all in the first half of play.
"In the first half we played our game very well," Davidson said. "We kept possession, and we took good care of the ball, so they were able to be dangerous at all. In the second half we lost our patience, gave the ball away too cheaply, and Memphis was able to do what they do well. We gave up a few too many set pieces on our back third, and we got punished for it."
Belmont will next head on the road to play UCF on Sunday, September 4 at 6:00 p.m. CT. The Bruins will then return home to host the Mafiaoza's Invitational on September 9 and 11. Lipscomb, VMI, and Georgia Southern will be in attendance.
