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Men's Soccer falls at Cumberland 2-1

Box Score

LEBANON, Tenn. – The Lindsey Wilson men's soccer team searched hard for a late equalizer but eventually came up empty as the seventh-ranked Blue Raiders fell 2-1 at Cumberland (Tenn.) on a rain-soaked pitch at Lindsey Donnell Stadium on Saturday.

The loss is the first Mid-South Conference regular-season defeat for the Blue Raiders (10-3-0, 3-1-0 MSC) since the 2012 season, when Lindsey Wilson fell to former MSC member Rio Grande (Ohio).

Cumberland, who is receiving votes in the national poll, remains undefeated on the year at 10-0-0 overall and 3-0-0 in the MSC.

The Blue Raiders found themselves playing from behind early after an eighth minute strike put the Bulldogs in front 1-0.

Cumberland's Elliot Goodwin took a ball down the right flank and got around a pair of Blue Raider defenders, sending a low cross into the box across the face of goal. Josh Armstrong got in front of his defender and tapped the ball first time into the back of the net to beat Yuta Nomura in goal for the 1-0 lead.

Six minutes later, the Bulldogs put the Blue Raiders on the ropes and doubled their lead in the 14th minute.

Cumberland's Valentine Murombo raced down the left flank with the ball before sending a curling cross into the box. The pass met Brian McNamara in stride at the far post as he headed the shot to the right of Nomura to make it a 2-0 game.

The Blue Raiders thought they had cut one back minutes later after putting the ball in the back of the net off a cross, but the flag had gone up for offside.

Lindsey Wilson held the majority of the possession for the remainder of the half and even created multiple scoring chances, but was unable to convert them into goals as they went into the break trailing 2-0.

The Blue Raiders took five shots, three on target in the first 45 minutes while the Bulldogs took four shots, all on goal.

Cumberland nearly made it a 3-0 game in the 54th minute, but Nomura made a fine one-handed save to keep it a two-goal deficit.

Lindsey Wilson continued to attempt to create chances, but Cumberland goalkeeper Bennet Strutz was quick off his line to shut down multiple Blue Raider attacks.

The Blue Raiders finally broke through in the 63rd minute with a goal off of a corner kick.

Aleksi Pahkasalo sent the corner kick to the near post where Moustapha Fofana redirected the ball with a low header and sent it just inside the far post to make it a 2-1 game.

From that point on, the Blue Raiders continued to bring men forward and send a barrage of long balls into the box in an attempt to find the equalizing goal. It nearly cost them after a free kick when the Bulldogs broke on a counterattack with a three-on-one advantage, but Yusuf Ackers made a terrific block to halt the attack.

The final 15 minutes saw Lindsey Wilson continue to apply pressure but a shot by Aleksi Pahkasalo went wide, and a volley attempt by Fofana was deflected and hit the post before going wide. The Blue Raiders continued to take shots in the final minutes but just could not put them on target and beat the keeper as the Bulldogs were able to hold on for the 2-1 victory.

By day's end, Lindsey Wilson had unleashed 19 shots, seven on target, with seven corners compared to eight shots, six on target, with one corner for Cumberland.

The Blue Raiders return to action on Oct. 7 when they host St. Catharine (Ky.) for another MSC matchup at 7 p.m. CT.

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