Duncan Sparks Come-From-Behind Win, Men’s Soccer Drops Cavs, 3-2
SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. (October 4, 2014) -- In a game marred with seven yellow cards and a pair of match-tying tallies, senior striker Ryan Duncan provided a pair of goals while sophomore forward Marco Cardona passed out two assists, leading the Golden Eagles (5-4-1, 1-1-1 SAC) to a 3-2 victory over St. Gregory’s (Okla.) this afternoon in front of a Homecoming 2014 crowd at Alumni Field.
Duncan’s goals now places him in first place in scoring on the team (6) and his 88th-minute goal earned him a team-pacing third game-winning tally.
“That was not our best performance of the year, but we are very glad to leave the field with our first conference win,” head coach Scott Marksberry said after the match. “Our guys kept battling today, and a number of guys stepped up in big ways. It was important to get those points for the conference standings and playing with guys injured and suspended is great preparation for late season games, when every player needs to be ready to step up. I am really excited about that part of today's result.”
Junior defender Logan Hellinghausen was not available due to injury while freshman defender Douglas Oliveira had to sit out the match having earned a red card against Oklahoma City on Oct. 1.
With the match tied at two in the 88th minute, the Golden Eagles broke the second deadlock of the game with a quick counter-attack up the right flank. With numbers, freshman forward Daniel Isiagi sent the ball into the middle to an oncoming Duncan. Junior midfielder Eli Simonsen wisely allow the ball to roll past to Duncan, who deposited a shot past SGU keeper Ivan Teodosijevic.
Isiagi claimed his first collegiate point on the play with the helper.
The Cavaliers’ Arturo Flores scored his first goal of the season in the 81st minute to the match at two apiece, the second tie of the afternoon.
The Golden Eagles seized control of the match with back-to-back goals in the 31st and 54th minutes, respectively, after the visitors took a surprising 1-0 lead in the 18th minute.
Greg Gibson put the Cavs up 1-0 when he finished off Mark McGrath’s shot on the right side of the goalmouth. McGrath, SGU’s leading scorer, fired a shot that freshman keeper Adam Holt made a tremendous save on, but Gibson was there at the doorstep to tap it in for the early lead.
John Brown finally found the scoreboard in the 31st minute when Guilherme Barbosa netted his first collegiate goal in a goalmouth scramble. Simonsen’s corner kick found the head of Cardona deep in the box, who provided a well-placed flick. The scoring chance didn’t find the back of the net, however, until the ball popped up to Barbosa, whose header did finally beat Teodosijevic. Simonsen and Cardona each earned a helper on the tally.
Duncan’s first strike of the game came after halftime when he buried an opportunity off a play that began with Cardona’s feed to senior midfielder Martin Gonzalez. Gonzalez threaded a pass into Duncan for his fifth goal of the season.
Holt recorded four saves in JBU’s first conference victory of the season. Teodosijevic collected three saves in the loss for the Cavaliers.
Duncan and Gonzalez each sent two shot attempts on the afternoon while five other Golden Eagles landed one shot attempt. McGrath posted a match-high seven shots for St. Gregory’s (3-6-0, 0-3-0 SAC).
The Golden Eagles will now prepare for another top-25 matchup on Tuesday (Oct. 7) when it hosts No. 17 Science & Arts (Okla.) at Alumni Field. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
