Box Score MEMPHIS, Tenn.- Facing its first road test of the young season, the Belmont University men's soccer team (1-1-1) came up short in its matchup with the Memphis Tigers (2-1-0), falling 4-0 at Mike Rose Soccer Complex Friday evening.
The pesky Bruins played the host Tigers to a 0-0 stalemate at the half, only to see Memphis break through for four scores in the final 45 minutes and walk away with the 4-0 victory.
"We did a pretty good job of playing how we wanted in the first half. In the second we veered away from it in some key moments and Memphis made us pay for those mistakes," remarked Head Coach Bryan Green.
Freshman netminder Mertcan Akar (Westphalia, Germany) finished with eight saves while fellow rookie Stephen Bailey (Nashville, Tenn.) led the way with three shots.
Memphis outshot Belmont 24-10 and held the advantage in cornerkicks at 12-6.
Memphis came out as the aggressor to begin the match as the Tigers compiled seven corners and 10 shots compared to the Bruins two corners and three shots in the first half. Belmont held its own though as the defense managed to contain the opposition thanks largely in part to the efforts of the rookie keeper Akar. After posting six saves apiece in the first halves of Belmont's first two games, the Germany native registered five in the first stanza against Memphis. While the Tigers won the possession battle for the majority of the opening act, Belmont came on strong late as it mounted the majority of its offensive momentum in the latter stages of the first half. The Bruins notched both of their cornerkicks after the 36th minute. Belmont was very thoughtful in the way it chose to attack Memphis and showed great patience when setting up their offense.
Coach Green substituted four times in the first half as he looked to inject some fresh legs into the lineup.
After the Belmont defense managed to bend without breaking in the first half, the Tigers finally broke through just a few minutes into the second stanza as Jordan Klipsch found the back of the net on a header in the 48th. A Belmont foul 10 yards outside of the corner of the 18' set up a Memphis free kick in which David Zalzman played a cross into the box where he found the streaking Kipsch.
In the 58th after Belmont looked to have stopped a dangerous Memphis possession, the Tigers managed to score on a rebound attempt. Alec Velez headed the ball right in front of the goal where he found Jackson Morse who quickly turned around and blasted it past Akar.
Belmont threatened in the 64th but a shot from Adriano Balani (Durres, Albania) was saved and on the ensuing corner BU's threat was thwarted by the Memphis backline.
Sean Bernabo (Eden Prairie, Minn.) was in a strong position to score in the 70th, but his attempt was stopped by the Memphis keeper, Jake Leeker, who made an aggressive, sliding save.
The Bruins saw Memphis add insurance goals in the 78th and 85th minutes to further establish its lead.
Memphis kept the pressure on Belmont's defense all evening, registering 12 shots on goal for the match.
"Moving forward we need to be better at managing the full 90 minutes," added Green. "We did a good job of managing the first half and were able to control a lot of the game from the 20th minute to half time. If we can keep that mindset in the second half, I like our chances in the last 10-15 minutes."
Belmont returns to action Sunday, Sept. 4 when it travels to Dayton, Ohio for a matchup with the Dayton Flyers at 3 p.m. Central time.
