CATS BEAT UTS IN MID-SOUTH CONFERENCE MEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Bethel Wildcats advanced to the MSC semifinals with a 2-1 win over the visiting Tennessee Southern FireHawks Friday night at Wildcat Stadium. The 4th seeded Cats improved to 13-5-1 while 5th seeded UTS ended their season at 10-9.
Callum McKenna scored the go-ahead goal in the 83rd minute and added an assist, as Bethel edged the visitors from Pulaski. It was McKenna's first goal of the season.
Pascal Mohungsi put the Wildcats in front late in the first half on an assist by McKenna, but the Firehawks squared the match in the 73rd minute on a score from Tiago Lopes (Mario Lopez on the assist).
Just over 10 minutes later Alphonso Gooden found McKenna for the game-winner. Bethel outshot Tennessee Southern, 12-10, and led in fouls 8-7 while UTS held the advantage in corner kicks, 6-4. Ajay Murray collected three saves in the loss for the Firehawks while Norberto Lima Vieira had four saves for Bethel. Vieira came up with a sensational save on a UTS penalty kick with just under two minutes left in the first period.
Coach Malang Jarju was said it was a tough and hard-fought victory. "This was a very difficult game because it is a derby. We are excited and happy to advance to the semifinals. We know we still have along way to go until Wednesday and know we need to work hard to get to the finals. We are happy about Callum scoring and by the performance of Norberto. We will regroup and work at getting ready for next week."
The semifinals are scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 10 with the championship match taking place on Friday, Nov. 12 in Bowling Green, Ky.
Bethel will meet top seeded Lindsey Wilson (12-2-1) Wednesday at 4 p.m. CST.
LWC beat the Cats 1-0 back on October 16 in McKenzie. The match turned into a physical and defensive battle between the two MSC foes. The only score came at the 61:05 mark on a goal by LWC'S Nathaniel Onyina Opo.
The tournament champion receives one of the conference's two automatic bids into the NAIA National Tournament. If Lindsey Wilson wins the tournament, the tournament's runner-up receives the second automatic bid.
Live stats and live video will be provided on the tournament homepage.
Tournament Homepage | Tournament Bracket
