Wildcats Hang Tough, Suffer First Loss at No. 24 Cumberlands

WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. – Coming off a big top-25 win in Thursday's season opener, Baker men's soccer couldn't hang on to a halftime lead and fell to No. 24 Cumberlands, 5-2 on Saturday morning in Williamsburg, Ky.

With the Patriots scoring first, the Wildcats responded with back-to-back goals to take a 2-1 lead into halftime, but the hosts came back with a three-goal second half to hand BU its first loss of 2024.

Cumberlands racked up a total of 19 shots in the match, while limiting Baker to just six, but two of BU's three shots on goal were able to find the back of the net. Reilly Marlow-Jones had three of the shots for the Wildcats and recorded his first goal of the season.

After a scoreless half hour of play, the Patriots broke open the scoring with a goal in the 30th minute to take a 1-0 lead. It was the first goal given up this season by the Wildcats after they shut out No. 23 Union on Thursday.

Less than five minutes later, Evans Osei Amankwah was pulled down in the box to earn a penalty and Marlow-Jones converted Baker's first PK of the year to draw the match level at 1-1.

Then, Pascal Brose put the Wildcats out in front in the 34th minute after forcing a costly Patriots turnover in the box and skipping a shot past the keeper to give BU a 2-1 lead with 10 minutes left in the first half. It was Brose's first goal as a Wildcat as well after the German defender played last season at Allen County CC.

With Baker taking a one-goal lead at the break, the scoring frenzy carried over into the second half with Cumberlands scoring in the first six minutes of play. A Patriots free kick on the edge of the box clipped the left post and ricocheted past BU keeper Chrisitan Villegas to bring the match to a 2-2 tie.

As the action started to settle down, the Patriots snapped the deadlock in the 76th minute with a top-shelf goal to give them their first lead since the game's opening goal.

While the Wildcats looked for the third equalizer of the match, Cumberlands padded the score with a couple of late goals with the final one coming while BU was down a man following a straight red in the 86th minute.

Starting the season off with back-to-back matches against top-25 teams, the Wildcats came away with a split on their Kentucky road trip after defeating the 23rd-ranked Bulldogs, 2-0 on Thursday.

Up next, Baker will make its 2024 home debut and host its annual Labor Day Classic, starting on Aug. 31 with a match against Southwestern Christian at 8:30 p.m. at Hartley Field.

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