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Crusaders defeat Knights in regular season finale October 27, 2007 In a match that saw all seven goals scored in the final 45 minutes, 11 cards (including two dismissals) the Belmont Abbey soccer team snapped a three-match losing streak with the three-goal victory. The Abbey ends the regular season with a record of 12-8-0 overall and 6-4-0 in Conference Carolinas, while the Knights fall to 11-5-3 overall and 6-4-0 in Conference Carolinas. After a scoreless first half in which the two teams combined for eight shots, the second half was an offensive barrage as all seven goals were accounted for in the stanza. St. Andrews got on the board first in the 51st minute with a Kiyabu tally for an early 1-0 lead. Kiyabu ranks second on the SAPC roster with six goals in his freshman campaign. However, three minutes later, the Abbey gained the equalizer as Kyle Fenner flipped a pass ahead to Brian Souza, who got behind the defense and flipped a shot over the head of junior goalkeeper Nick Stevens (Kernersville, N.C.) to tie the match at one. The Abbey would take the lead for good just three minutes later, as senior Nana Ageyman fed a pass ahead to Luis Arrieta, who beat Stevens with a low shot for a 2-1 Crusader lead. That was all of the scoring until the 73rd minute, when Dirk Jansson fired home a penalty kick after Souza was taken down hard in the box on a 50-50 ball by Stevens, who was sent off with a red card on the takedown. Stevens was replaced by freshman William Williams (Denver, Colo.), who was beat by Jansson on the penalty kick for a 3-1 lead. Just under two minutes later, at the 74:33 mark, Arrieta found the back of the net for the second time as Paul Goding fed a pass to the center of the box, where Arrieta ripped home the winner for a 4-1 lead. Four minutes later in the 79th minute, the Knights cut the lead in half at 4-2 by connecting on corner kick, as Ferris headed home the winner. Ferris becomes the 14th different Knight to score this season with his first goal of the year as SAPC continues to build on its school record-setting goal total of 43. The Abbey quickly got the goal back just 25 seconds later as JP Lebiecz scored his first career goal off a feed from Ernie Miller for the final tally of the match. The Abbey out shot St. Andrews 13-8 and held a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks. The two teams combined to commit 44 fouls, with St. Andrews called for 26 to the Abbey's 18. Seth Lowther made three saves in the net for the Crusaders, and Bryan Alenky made one. Stevens made six stops but took the loss. St. Andrews enters the 2007 Conference Carolinas Tournament as the No. 6 seed and will visiting No. 3 seed Pfeiffer University in Tuesday’s first round game at 2:00 p.m. in Misenheimer, N.C. SAPC defeated the Falcons 3-2 on September 13 in Misenheimer. |