KIRKSVILLE, Mo.—The Truman men's soccer team came into their home opener and first GLVC conference game against Quincy. The Bulldogs had dropped seven straight to the Hawks, having not beaten them since winning 2-1 in Quincy in 2011. But TSU emerged victorious 2-0, with goals via a Matt Yankowitz penalty shot at the end of the first half and one from Jeff Masters early in the second.

Early on, Truman dominated possession and kept up a potent attack. They would have 55% possession overall in the first half, and early on the advantage was more pronounced. The first shot on goal came off the foot of Jake Koenig just under 14 minutes in, which floated into the arms of the keeper. A few minutes later Ian McCluskey attempted to put a ball in the goalie box, which was muffed but no Bulldogs were there to take advantage.

With just over 18 minutes left in the half Quincy managed their only shot on goal of the half, which Roy Hart collected. Both teams tried to strike from distance in the first half, to no avail. Toward the end of the half the game began to open up a bit, and Quincy got another chance with a free kick, but Hart gathered it harmlessly. At the end of the first half, Koenig put a cross from the left side of the attacking zone into the box where he tried to hit Matt Yankowitz for the header. He just missed the ball, but was fouled in the box and with a second left was awarded a penalty shot. He shot low and to the right, and the goalie guessed wrong and it gave Truman a 1-0 edge at the half.

At the start of the second half, Quincy came out looking for their equalizer quickly. They had a shot very quickly but it sailed high. Truman got the ball into the attacking zone, and Andrew Brennan led the charge down the left side of the field. He found Masters in the middle of the field who dribbled into the box and got off his shot. His first attempt was blocked, but he got the ball back and put the second attempt into the back of the net to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead; with Brennan getting an assist.

Quincy charged hard to get back into the game, and got a corner less than two minutes after the goal. The effort was on target but broken up by the Truman defense. The best chance for Quincy came in a scrum following the corner with 20 minutes left in the half, but once again Hart was up to the challenge. Neither offense let up on their attack the rest of the way, but both defenses could not be broken down and the Bulldogs saw the game out with a 2-0 win.

Next up for the team will be a pair of games in the Kansas City area as they take on Rockhurst Friday at 7:30 p.m. and William Jewell Sunday afternoon at 2:30.