Cougars pick up a win and a loss

The MVNU men’s soccer team (10-3-1) picked up a win and a loss this week, topping the University of Saint Francis on Wednesday 3-0 and falling to Huntington University 3-2 in double overtime on Saturday.

The 3-0 victory over Saint Francis was the Cougars’ third consecutive Crossroads League win. MVNU was held scoreless until the 26th minute of play when senior Enrique Salazar found the back of the net for his eighth goal of the season.

Senior Dennis Taylor also scored for the Cougars in the 45th minute when freshman Brandon Mount found Taylor in front of the net with two seconds left in the first half.

Junior Aaron Russell tacked on one more goal for the Cougars off an assist from Taylor in the 83rd minute to seal the victory for MVNU.

"We were fortunate to get a couple in the first half," Cougars coach Andrew Belleman said. "The guys that come off the bench know their role. In the second half, we did a lot of things right."

"We're trying to focus on giving good performances," Belleman added.

After remaining scoreless in the first half, the Cougars gained a 2-0 lead on Saturday against the Foresters with goals from Salazar and freshman Gerardo Rivas.

Guilherme Lins Souza cut the deficit for Huntington in the 80th minute.

With five minutes left in the game, Isaac Wust tied it up for the Foresters. He found the back of the net for the second time in the 103rd minute of play to give the Foresters their fifth win of the season.

"I think we played a pretty good game, but we struggled to close it out at the end," Belleman said of the Cougars' third loss of the season. "With a young team, there are learning moments. We can learn how to close it out better. We were in the position to win the game, and we'll do it next time."

The Cougars will host nationally ranked (24) Spring Arbor University on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

"Spring Arbor will be tough. That's the first thing we have to do, figure out how to win that game," Belleman said.