Mendoza Scores in UHSP Loss to Blackburn

The Eutectic men's soccer team battled the Blackburn College Beavers from Carlinville, Ill., in the heat of Wednesday afternoon at Creve Coeur Soccer Complex in St. Louis County. After no scoring in the first half, the NCAA Division III Beavers outscored the UHSP team 2-1 in the second half to take home their first victory of the season and keep the Eutectics hungry for a tick in the W column. Freshman Kalel Mendoza earned his first collegiate goal in the game to mark the board for the Eutectics. Freshman goalkeeper Wyatt Taylor recorded a season-high 12 saves in the game.

While the Eutectics had their chances In the first half, the Beavers seemed to hold a slight advantage over the Eutectics, outshooting the home team 9-3 and forcing three saves by Taylor to keep the game at 0-0 into halftime.  

In the second half, the Blackburn offense got to work right away, scoring within the first two minutes of play. The Beavers were able to steal the ball from defenders in the Eutectic end, setting up a wide open shot in front of the goal for Grant Eugea. Taylor was able to save the shot, but the ball was deflected right back to Eugea for the put-in to give the Beavers the 1-0 advantage.

Nearly twenty minutes later, UHSP was set up for a free kick from just outside the Blackburn box on the left side. Jacob Woodard took the shot on goal that was saved but deflected by BU goalkeeper Dawson Klunk. The deflection rolled right towards a waiting Kalel Mendoza who was positioned just in front of the goal line to put the ball in the net and tie the game at 1-1.

The Blackburn offense got back to business with a sense of urgency after that with one goal being called back for offsides and several other offsides calls against the visiting team. The Eutectic defense fought off five shots, including an indirect free kick from inside the box, before the Beavers found the net again with 15 minutes left in the game. From the left side of the box, Brayden Smith lifted the ball to Cristian Cazares in the center, who headed the ball to Johnny Perla on the right. Perla's quick shot to the lower left net found the hole in the Eutectic defense, scoring the game-winning goal. 

The Beavers continued their offensive pressure through the final 15 minutes of the game, putting another two shots on goal (saved by Taylor) and taking three corner kicks. With about six minutes left, the Eutectics had a chance to tie it with a shot on goal by Woodard. The goalkeeper's deflection resulted in a corner kick, which the Eutectics were unable to convert.

In the end, the Beavers took 30 shots to the Eutectics' 11, with Woodard taking four for UHSP. As mentioned, Taylor picked up 12 saves in the game, while BU's Klunk had three.

After five games, the Eutectics are still looking for their first win of the season. Next up, they travel across town to take on the Fontbonne University Griffins (0-5) on Tuesday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m.