Box Score NASHVILLE, Tenn.- Despite a ferocious come back late in the match, the Belmont University men's soccer team (1-3-1) came up just short Saturday evening in its Horizon League Opener, falling 2-1 to the visiting Cleveland State Vikings (3-2-0).
Striker Tony Doellefeld (St. Louis, Mo.) added a late goal in the 86th minute to draw Belmont within striking distance, but the Bruins' comeback bid was to no avail as Cleveland State held on for the narrow victory.
"I thought we had enough chances to score two goals and I think we gave up too many chances for them to only have two goals. Mertcan was fantastic and we had some great fight at the end, but it just wasn't our best game," said Belmont Head Coach Bryan Green.
Freshman keeper Mertcan Akar (Westphalia, Germany) continued his excellent play as he recorded 11 saves and registered several impressive stops on the match. For Akar, Saturday marked the second-straight match in which he has compiled double digit saves. Akar continues to lead all of Division I with 45 saves in just five matches.
"He's just that good. He makes the difficult look simple and saves the impossible. He kept us in the game. I told the team at half time, play fearlessly because we have a backstop behind us. I told them to be free and not worry about making mistakes because he could save them, and he did multiple times tonight. We've got to reward him with some wins soon."
After the teams were deadlocked at 0-0 at the half, the intensity ramped up and things got interesting in the final 45 minutes. It was Cleveland State who dealt the first blow just minutes into the second stanza when it capitalized on a penalty kick opportunity in the 51st minute. Dan Koniarcyzk bounced one past Akar to open the scoring. Belmont didn't show any signs of worry though as it mounted a strong offensive challenge in the 55th minute. It was a freshman to freshman combo as Stephen Bailey (Nashville, Tenn.) played a beautiful touch to teammate Ben Santos-Meeker on the left region of the 18'. Santos-Meeker put his chance on goal only to see Sebastian Kalk make the stop.
Again in the 58th it was Bailey who set up an excellent rally for the Bruins, but his close range shot struck the right post on a narrow misfire. The possession would alternate back and forth, and Belmont's defense led by the stingy Akar held its own until just a few minutes remained in regulation. In the 85th minute the Vikings struck again. This time it was Hesham Hammouda who would score for CSU to push its lead to two goals.
Facing a 2-0 deficit with just five minutes remaining in regulation, most teams would panic, but Belmont showed great maturity instead. First it was Adriano Balani (Durres, Albania) who had his eyes set on finding the back of the net, but his strong strike carromed off the cross bar in the 86th. Remaining on the offensive, Doellefeld filled the right gap at the right time, finding Balani's rebounding shot and knocked it past the diving Kalk to get Belmont on the board.
Leading 2-1 late, CSU would begin a prevent-type defense from this point forward, but the Bruins would get a look at one last opportunity. Balani found himself with a chance again in the 88th but his attempt sailed high of the goal.
"Cleveland State is a very good team. I think they tested us in a lot of different ways. I think we did some good things defensively but we just weren't consistent enough," added Green.
Doellefeld paced the Bruins with four shot attempts while Balani finished with three.
The Bruins return to action Tuesday, Sept. 13 when they travel to Lipscomb for the annual Battle of the Boulevard match.
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