Brevard, NC- The men's soccer team went on the road this afternoon to play a USA South conference match. The team took the field against the Brevard College Tornadoes, also a newcomer to the USA South. Brevard is reclassifying from NCAA Division II to Division III so they are ineligible to compete for conference championships, meaning the game did not count against each team's conference record.
A goal less than two minutes into the game gave Brevard a quick 1-0 advantage. The offensive opportunities for Berea, such as a shot by Sharman Sugumaran, were not finding their way into the back of the net as the team searched for the equalizer. As the Mountaineers continued to try to tie the game, the Tornadoes pushed their lead out to two in the 17th minute with a goal. Berea was held out of the net in the first half as they went into the halftime intermission trailing 3-0.
The search for a goal to cut into the deficit for Berea was turning up empty as Brevard added to its lead with a goal in the 57th minute to move ahead 4-0. The offense continued to struggle to find its footing in the game as Brevard tacked on two more goals to win by a final score of 6-0. Sugumaran took two shots for the Mountaineers, one of which was on goal, to go along with one shot each from Dakota Massucco and Issac Domenech. Noah DeHart started in the net for Berea and finished with 11 saves on 17 shots on goal.
The men's soccer team returns to the Berea College Sports Complex for their next game as they stay in the USA South conference portion of their schedule. William Peace University, a team from the East division of the USA South, comes to home field of the Mountaineers on Thursday, October 5th. First touch is scheduled for 6:00 PM.