PEORIA, Ill. – HBU men's soccer had a strong offensive showing Sunday night, outshooting host Bradley, 23-14, but the Braves scored the only goal in the match as they defeated the Huskies, 1-0, under the lights at Shea Stadium.
"It was a very unfortunate result," said HBU head coach
Steve Jones. "The boys played great. It was some really good soccer. Their goalkeeper made some phenomenal saves. Any time you take 23 shots, you have to be pleased. We just need to work on finishing."
Dominick Faletto came off the bench for HBU (1-1-0) and had a team-high five shots, while both he and
Thilo Borgmann had two shots on goal.
Philip Poser (1-1-0) made three saves.
Grant Bell had a team-best five shots for Bradley (1-1-0), while Frank Bak had the lone goal, as he registered three shots and two shots on goal. Logan Ketterer (1-1-0) stopped six shots between the pipes.
HBU's offense came out firing early, as the Huskies had three shot attempts and two corner kicks in the first four-and-a-half minutes.
In the 29th minute, Bell's shot attempt was blocked. The Huskies failed to clear and Bak picked up the ball and scored from 10 yards out for a 1-0 Braves lead.
HBU dominated the first half except for the only category that counted, as HBU outshot the Braves 11-4 in the half.
Forty-two seconds into the second half, Poser made a tremendous save off a header attempt by Bell. "It was a terrific save that helped keep the deficit one," said Jones.
HBU kept the offensive pressure on, with five shot attempts in the next 10 minutes. In the 57th minute,
George Kelley's header attempt off a Borgmann corner sailed just wide.
The Huskies' best opportunity came late in regulation. In the 82nd minute, Ketterer stopped a Faletto shot. Seconds later,
Kameron Maney came inches close to tying the match, as his header attempt hit the cross bar.
HBU outshot Bradley, 12-11, in the second half, while the Braves had six of the 10 corner kicks, giving them a 10-6 advantage for the match.
HBU heads to the border next weekend to compete in the UT-Rio Grande Valley Tournament Sept. 4-6. The Huskies play IPFW Sept. 4, then Buffalo Sept. 6. Both kick-offs are set for 4:30 pm starts.
