Clarksville, Ark.-Brandon VanCleave broke a 1-1 tie with a penalty kick in the 36th minute to propel the Eagles to a 3-1 victory over Missouri Baptist University in non-conference action Monday.
Ozarks moves to 4-1-0 and will begin American Southwest Conference play September 19 in a road match against UT-Dallas.
Ozarks struck early in the match when Philip Johnson scored on a header only two minutes and fifteen seconds into the match. Johnson received a perfect ball from Scott Janders, who had made his way down the right side line. Johnson was in perfect position and promptly scored his third goal of the year. The Spartans (3-4-0), however, answered with a goal six minutes later thanks to Ivan Milisevic. The Eagles took back the lead and got what would be the game-winning goal when Brandon VanCleave connected on a penalty kick in the 36th minute. VanCleave now has three goals and a team-best nine points. Ozarks owned a 8-3 shots advantage after one half.
The Eagles secured the match when Tanner Holman scored his second goal of the season in the 65th minute. Holman received the ball from a corner kick after it got knocked around and whizzed one past the keeper. Francisco Garza received the assist.
Ozarks totaled 13 shots in the match, with Dylan Evans recording three shots on goal.
Neil Thompson played 82 minutes of the match after replacing Christian Ridings. Thompson tallied three saves.
Topics: Athletics