Barbourville, KY – Patriots men's soccer brought home another road win, this time over the Union College Bulldogs in a 2-0 affair. Goals by
Luis Jara Encina and
Sergio Infantes Castell boost Cumberlands to a 3-1-0 overall record to open the season.
The Patriots matched up well in the second half to put more offensive pressure on the home team, resulting in two goals by the Patriots after a null game at halftime. While also starting, Jara came off the bench after some needed rest after halftime, as well as Infantes only saw second-half action.
"It was really just guys on the bench being ready," Coach Chris Lefevre said following the match. "We didn't change our tactical plans, we changed personnel."
Jara placed himself in the box at the end of a cross from
Miguel Reis on the right wing, also coming off the bench in the second, to lace a goal on the left side. Falling through the shot, Jara boosted the confidence of the Patriots offense as the visitors went up on the Bulldogs 1-0 after 77 minutes of action.
Sergio Infantes out-ran his defender in the 84th minute, and with only the keeper to beat, shot too far to the right and caught the post. With the keeper on the turf and an empty net ahead, Infantes got the score after the ball bounced back to his feet seconds after the first shot to extend the margin to 2-0.
The game was tied at zero through the first half despite many chances for the Patriot men to gain an edge on the home team. In the first 15 minutes, the Bulldogs played overly aggressive to take two yellows and give the Patriots five free kicks just outside of the box, who were unable to convert on the opportunities.
"You really need to be up 2-0 at halftime in a game against an opponent like this," Lefevre said. "We had two clear chances that we needed to put away to try and get them to come out more, opening the game up more which creates more space for us to be a bit more dangerous."
Akililu Zambataro made his third-straight appearance in goal for the Patriots defense, collecting another win for his resume to hold a 2-1-0 record in his rookie season. The keeper made seven impressive saves, as well as sniffing out key crosses to end the opposing chances, as well as collecting his second-consecutive shutout behind his defensive line.
Leading from the defensive half,
Smith Pepper and
Nemanja Jovanovic held true as the game's defensive duo. The pair offered key interceptions and control in the defensive midfield to start many offensive runs at the goal. Also, Smith and Jovanovic cleared Bulldogs chances in the box as the left and right backs respectively. As a whole, the defensive squad allowed 16 shots with only seven between the posts.
Although held out of goal for the third-straight game,
Marvin van der Made rallied his offensive unit with three of his four shots placed on goal. Infantes placed four of five on target in the 90-minute affair and
Joel Drewery tallied two shots on goal. Jara and
Alejandro Gonzalez tacked on one more apiece to put the Patriots at 11 of 23 shots on frame through the night.
The Patriots have one more match-up this week set for Sunday, September 8 at Concordia (MI) against the Cardinals. Following the road trip to Ann Arbor, Cumberlands will prepare for their first home game since August 17 on the following Saturday.
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