NORTH NEWTON, Kan. - Although no. 16 Ottawa surrendered a goal in the second half, it was a small blip on an otherwise dominant performance by the Braves in a 3-1 win at Bethel College on Saturday.
Ottawa was dominant in the first half, holding Bethel to just one shot, an off-balance shot from Connell Silmon that was easily collected by
Alex Neri despite appearing to be just wide of target in the 14th minute.
The Braves, on the other hand, had plenty of chances in the opening 45 minutes.
Antonio Natalucci unleashed a shot from 25 yards out that was deflected for a sixth-minute corner.
Simon Kindt and
Cale Scott each nearly put Ottawa on the board in the 12th minute forcing back-to-back sprawling dives by Diego Medina, with Bethel's keeper spilling both stops, the second for a corner.
Ottawa struck in the 21st minute, as
Jevan Purcell-Jackson earned a penalty kick for the Braves with Bethel fortunate to not see a card of some sort on the foul. After dribbling past one Thresher defender to the endline and turning back to goal, a second player missed with a stabbing attempt to tackle the ball away but followed through with his hips, clearing out Purcell-Jackson.
Scott calmly struck the finish for his sixth goal of the season.
The Braves doubled their lead in the 32nd minute after forcing a turnover in midfield from a Threshers throw in. With quick pressure, Ottawa forced Bethel to harmlessly play the ball out on the opposite side of the center line and picked up a quick throw.
Martin Basso found the feet of
Matias Mazieres, and as Mazieres was being dragged to the ground he was able to turn and play a ball forward to
Daniel Raja.
Raja dribbled one-on-one against Medina, uncorking a low drive from 10 yards out. Medina was able to get just the barest of touches to the shot, but it fell to a pursuing
Slobodan Novicevic for an easy tap in.
Bethel was able to nip one goal back in the 48th minute completely against the run of play. After a corner kick was dealt with by Medina, the Threshers keeper popped up and hurled a long ball forward to Silmon. Silmon took a settling touch and found Erwin Navarro in the middle of the pitch, where he was able to sneak it past
Luca Fofonka.
Kindt and Scott combined again in the 61st minute to re-establish a two-goal lead for the Braves, with Scott tallying his seventh goal of the year. Ottawa was able to control the remainder of the match easily, moving to 2-0 in KCAC action.
The Braves continue their road swing with a big challenge at no. 1 Oklahoma Wesleyan on Wednesday. Kickoff from Bartlesville, Okla., is set for 5 p.m.
