Bellevue tames Mustangs to stay unbeaten

BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Five different players found the back of the net for the #12 Bellevue University men's soccer team as they defeated Morningside College _-_ on Wednesday afternoon at Bellevue Soccer Club.

Records:

#12 Bellevue: 9-0-2
Morningside: 3-3-1

Recap:

Bellevue matched a season-high with five goals and extended their shutout streak to nearly 400 minutes with their fourth-straight clean sheet.

With pressure mounting in the Morningside box Travis Hurd played a ball across the top of the box that Yago Ramos came onto and hit low and hard with his first touch to give Bellevue an early 1-0 lead. The 10^th minute goal was the first of the season for Ramos.

Bellevue wasted little time doubling their advantage with another goal in the 17^th minute. Emil Gebelhoff sent in a shot from distance that was saved but Renato Silva followed-up with a one-timed rebound shot for his third goal of the year.

BU added a third tally in the 41^st minute. Inaki Aldao's initial attempt was blocked but Marvin Ramirez settled the rebound and calmly beat the keeper across his body for his second goal.

Hurd drew a free kick in the 48^th minute that Toby Millward converted into his fourth goal of the season with a free kick bent over the wall and under the cross bar.

Aldao added an insurance tally in the 81^st minute. Jacob Pease won a ball in the midfield and passed to Ramirez whose through ball found Aldao to beat the keeper nearside.

BU's AJ Jarvis stopped all five shots Morningside put on frame to earn the win.

Tim Erdman made three saves for the Mustangs who were out-shot 15-11 (8-5 on goal) for the match.

Up Next:

Bellevue hosts Hannibal-La Grange on Saturday, Sept. 22 for a 2 p.m. kick-of at Bellevue Soccer Club.

Man of the Match:

Jacob Pease – Directed the defense to their fourth-straight clean sheet and won several strong tackles to help BU limit Morningside to just five shots on goal. He also added an assist on the final goal of the game.

Mark Heath-Preston:

"Marvin Ramirez and Inaki Aldao with a goal and an assist off the bench really helped us. It's nice to have Inaki fit again after a few weeks out. Kortlan Franke had a great second half and showed some great skill on the ball and Toby Millward's free kick is one of the best I've seen. We need to make sure we keep defending properly as we allowed a few chances towards the end of the game. Overall, I'm very happy with the result."

Notes:

• Bellevue stretched their shutout streak to 387:16 minutes with their fourth-straight shutout.
• The seven shutouts recorded by Bellevue this season are the most since they recorded nine clean sheets during the 2015 season.
• BU moved up three spots in the last NAIA Coaches' Poll, to No. 12, when it came out yesterday afternoon.
• Five goals scored match the most Bellevue has tallied in a game this season, also doing so against Doane (Aug. 17) and Sterling (Sept. 4).