Men’s Soccer Falls to No. 22 MNU in Rain-Soaked Road Match

OLATHE, Kan. – Playing in rainy conditions on the road, Baker men's soccer battled with No. 22 MidAmerica Nazarene, but came up short and fell 1-0 to the Pioneers on Tuesday in Olathe, Kan.

The Wildcats outshot MNU, 9-7 and had a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks, but the Pioneers scored a goal late in the first half which served as the game-winner to knock off a Baker squad that was coming off a 3-2 victory against Graceland on Saturday.

Gyorgy Kamaras had a game-high four shots in the match, while Falco Dijkhuis and Iwan Roberts each had a couple shots for BU as well. Michael Stӧger started the match in goal for the Wildcats and collected three saves, while shutting out the Pioneers in the second half.

The Wildcats seemed to have the upper hand early on in the match, putting up four shots in the first 20 minutes of action. Dijkhuis had the best opportunity of those four shots after getting an open look just outside the box and forcing the MNU keeper to make a diving save.

After weathering the early BU attack, MNU tallied its goal in the 34th minute with Nicolas Theberge firing off a left-footed shot to put the hosts in front, 1-0 before halftime.

In the 64th minute, Baker looked to have the equalizer after earning a free kick from about 25-yards out. A little give-and-go action from Kamaras and Hunter French off the free kick put Kamaras at the edge of the 6-yard box where his ensuing shot was saved by an MNU defender right at the goal line.

Kamaras' attempt ended up being BU's final shot on goal of the match as the rain started to pick up and MNU was able to hold on to the 1-0 result.

Heading into the regular-season finale, the Wildcats sit at 8-6-3 overall for the year and are 4-5-1 against conference opponents. They close out the regular season with a match at No. 23 Mount Mercy on Saturday, Oct. 28 at 3:30 p.m. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

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