Montreat College’s men’s soccer team hosted Union College on Saturday for conference play. Due to injuries, the Cavaliers have struggled in conference play this season. They entered the game with an 0-4 conference record and a 5-5 season record. Union College arrived with a 3-1 conference record, a 6-5-1 season record and receiving votes for the NAIA Top 25 Poll.The Cavaliers fielded a healthy team motivated for its first conference victory. Although Union College’s Jamie Cozens put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard first, Montreat sophomore Paul Connell responded with three first-half goals. Montreat took a 3-1 lead into halftime.
Both teams added a lot of offensive pressure in the second half, but the Cavaliers prevailed with additional goals from Maximiliano Viera and Javier Cuellar. The 5-2 victory gave the Cavaliers their first conference victory and some much-needed momentum.
Head Coach Brenton Benware had the following to say about the match. “We really needed today’s win. Although we’re still a bit plagued with injuries, our team showed up big. Connell played exceptionally well and had clinical finishing for us.”
The men’s team will travels to Florida this weekend for matches against Clearwater Christian College and Eckerd College.
