Sophmore forward (10) Bryan Perez dribbles the ball across the pitch.

Bradley kicks and scores freely in 3-1 win over UMKC

By: David Cordill

Posted: 10/8/07

The UMKC men's soccer team dropped its third straight home game of the season to Bradley University 3-1 Wednesday afternoon at Bourke Field at Rockhurst University.

In an ugly match the Kangaroos (5-4-1; 1-0 Summit League) and Braves (6-3-1) wrestled through 90 minutes of tightly-contested soccer. The final score was not indicative of the battle.

"We played hard against a really good team," said senior forward Stephen Mannino. "If we can play with that intensity for the rest of our games, I think we'll do really well."

UMKC looked to open things up early but missed on a couple of chances in the first five minutes of action. Junior forward Brian Harris hit the crossbar on a shot two minutes in and had another effort stopped at the 4:05 mark.

Moments later, a reeling Bradley squad made the most of a free kick opportunity as sophomore forward Chris Cutshaw scored his team-leading fifth goal of the year, vaulting the Braves in front, 1-0 at the 5:58 mark.

The stunned Kangaroos eventually pulled it together later in the half, responding to a free kick in the 32nd minute from the able foot of senior midfielder Ali Dorri. As a result of Dorri's smart feed, senior forward Mannino found the back of the net and evened the score at 1-1.

"[Dorri] just gave me a little nod," Mannino said, "and I just kind of juked my guy and got to the near post before he did and just knocked it in. It was a perfect ball in the alleyway in front of the goal."

The teams remained deadlocked at the break with UMKC going zero for five in corner kick opportunities and each squad registering two shots on goal.

Bradley University surged ahead in the 66th minute. Cutshaw struck again with a header off a free kick from the left wing and the Braves took a 2-1 advantage. Lacking the sturdy services of freshman forward John Bayron Sosa and Harris, who both received yellow cards earlier in the match, the Kangaroos were unable to answer. The Braves proceeded to put the game on ice at the 86:51 mark on an 18-yard missle from Rudy Garcia, increasing their lead to 3-1 and ultimately winning the match.

"The things that killed us were the restarts," said UMKC Head Coach Rick Benben. "They scored on two free kicks and you've got to defend better than that. You've got to be stronger and defend those plays, which we didn't do."

Benben said he was impressed with the play of the team members who normally don't see a lot of action. He was especially pleased with the performance of Mannino and freshman Brian Quintana's effort at the centerback position.

Junior defender Kyle Brewer, obviously dissappointed with the loss, was short on words. He said the Roos played well but could not convert on their opportunities.

"I'd just as soon look forward to Saturday," [a conference match with IUPUI] Brewer said. "And that's all I've got to say."

dcordill@unews.com