KIRKSVILLE, Mo.—With just two games left in the season, the Truman men's soccer team needed a win on Friday over visiting Missouri-St. Louis to stay in the race for the GLVC conference tournament. Will Clayton got his first career goal and it made the difference as Truman defeated UMSL 1-0 to improve to 5-7-2 in conference play and stay in the hunt for the GLVC tournament.
The first half was a free flowing affair with both teams generating their share of chances. Early on Max Sengl and Andrew Brennan took shots for the Bulldogs, but both sailed just wide of the net. The first shot on goal came in the 12th minute as UMSL's Magnus Andersen tested Truman keeper Julian Echeverri, who was up to the challenge. Just a few minutes later, Clayton took the ball in the middle of the attacking zone and with plenty of room in front of him lifted a shot that went across the box and into the top right corner of the net to put the Bulldogs up. But the Tritons would keep up the pressure on the attack, generating ten corner kicks in the first half. However, they could not get past Echeverri, who made eight saves in the game and got his first Truman shutout win.
Early in the second half, Truman had a couple great chances to expand their lead. Matt Yankowitz and Andrew Brennan both tested UMSL keeper Jordan Hurt in the 49th minute but could not get the ball past the Triton keeper. After Brennan's shot, Andresen quickly got the ball on the counter attack but once again Echeverri kept the visitors off the scoreboard.
In the 74th minute, Adam Shine had a golden opportunity to double the lead for Truman. He got the ball in the box to force Hurt to come out, Shine made a move to get around him and had an open net. A frantic team save by UMSL kept the ball out and the score 1-0. From there, Truman took control of the game and would not allow another shot on goal to see out the game and seal the win.
The final regular season game for the Bulldogs will come on Sunday as Lindenwood comes to Truman Soccer Park for a noon start.
