Flames stay aggressive in shutout
Men’s soccer ends Campbell’s winning streak, and their own three-game losing skid with 1-0 victory
Hammering away — Liberty blasted 14 shots on goal. One finally made it through in the 62nd minute to seal the deal. Photo credit: Jake Mitchell
A strong defensive showing, coupled with a goal from Kyle Breitmeyer, ended Campbell University’s three-win streak on Friday, Oct 5. Breitmeyer’s goal came at the 62nd minute, when he dribbled down the left side of the field and hammered a long-range shot into the top right corner of the Campbell goal. Breitmeyer was assisted by Johnny Torres and Sachem Wilson.
“I thought our guys demonstrated the fight, the grit, the hunger and the determination they needed to be successful,” Head Coach Jeff Alder said. “It’s been a tough season for us so far, but our guys haven’t lost hope.”
The Liberty men’s soccer team’s record now tallies up to 3-6 overall, with a 2-1 record in the Big South Conference. Friday night’s game was Campbell’s third loss in the season, and its record stands at 7-3-1 with a conference record of 2-2.
“We went through the refining moment of losing some matches,” Liberty defender Uriah Bentick said. “But I think we’re on the right track thanks to God. Jesus Christ is good, and we’re on the right track.”
Clutch Saves
Campbell showed its offensive capabilities as it managed to hit 10 shots on-target out of the 14 shots taken at the Liberty goal, and there were many occasions in the second half where Campbell almost scored.
“It was tough to defend, but I think we did a lot better in the box than we have in the past few games,” Liberty defender Tim Harbinson said. “We’ve gotten a lot (of balls) cleared off the (goal) line that we might have let slip before.”
Campbell came the closest to equalizing when Campbell forward Bryce Miller shot the ball past Liberty goalkeeper Scott Sutarik at the 70th minute. The ball was headed away by Liberty defender Henry Reyes, who had slotted into the right corner of the goal before it crossed the goal line.
“(Campbell) forced us to focus on the game a lot more,” Harbinson said. “We couldn’t ever let our guards down because they were coming down the left side, and we just had to stay tight.”
Campbell narrowly escaped a chance to salvage a draw at the 84th minute when Sutarik wandered too far from his goal to punch a cross coming in from a corner kick. The Liberty goal was left exposed, but Liberty managed to keep a clean sheet after it formed a human wall in front of the goal that deflected any shots. The ball was eventually cleared away by Harbinson.
“We did a great job withstanding the pressure in the last eight or 10 minutes,” Alder said. “I think we showed some grit today. I think we wanted to win more than the other team, and I’m very proud of our guys.”
Liberty University will play their next home game against American University on Oct. 9, 7 p.m., before playing three consecutive away games in the Big South Conference.