Bradley soccer traveled to Edwardsville on Wednesday to face the SIUE Cougars (1-2-2) in a match that was decided early on.
After a hard-fought 90 minutes, the Cougars sent the Braves packing, beating them 2-0. The loss brings the Braves’ record to 3-3-1.
Heading into the match versus SIUE, Bradley was on a two-game losing streak after losses to Green Bay and Missouri State. The Braves offense struggled to develop opportunities to score in both matchups. As for SIUE, the team was coming off a 1-1 draw against Memphis and remained undefeated since their 4-0 defeat to Dayton on Sept. 1.
Bradley’s offense initially seemed to find its footing against the Cougars. Although their shots didn’t see the goal, the Braves were much better at generating shots than in the previous game versus Missouri State.
However, Bradley’s defensive performance was uncharacteristically underwhelming, causing the Braves to fall behind early and put more pressure on offense.
In the 23rd minute, SIUE opened the scoring with a goal from sophomore midfielder Yasha Schaerer, after a beautiful pass slotted into the middle of the box.
Seven minutes later, the forward who assisted the previous goal, graduate Pavel Dashin, was on the receiving end of a crisp grounded pass into the box from the right wing. The goal gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead, which they held until the halftime whistle.
The Braves could not find the net in the second half, missing all seven shots in the final 45 minutes. Meanwhile, SIU Edwardsville’s defense stood pat, stopping almost every Bradley attack.
After a disappointing loss, the Braves hope to get their fourth win as they return to Peoria to play Missouri Valley Conference powerhouse Bowling Green on Saturday.
