Springfield, Mo. – Evangel men's soccer came close to ending their first season since 1974 with a win, but fell short 3-0 to Benedictine on Saturday at Cooper Stadium.
Evangel trailed 1-0 at the half and stayed close throughout. Calum James scored the first goal for the Ravens with a blast from 15 yards out in the 12th minute. After the goal, Evangel would hold on for the rest of the half.
After the break, Evangel looked dangerous immediately. Austin Reinold hit a dangerous strike from 35 yards that Ravens goalkeeper Caleb Jenkins barely got a hand on to tip over. The game was tight until Benedictine's second goal from Ryan Dickerson in the 69th minute.
Before the game, Evangel honored two seniors graduating from the program. Adrian Plascencia and Daniel Martinez played in their final contest for the Crusaders, with both getting starts.
With the loss, Evangel's record drops to 0-14 and 0-10 in the Heart of America conference. Benedictine improved to 9-6-1 and 4-5-1 in the conference.
Although the season finished winless for Evangel, there were some season highlights. Adrian Plascencia was among the national leaders in two goalkeeping categories, finishing fourth in overall saves (118), and fifth in saves per game (9.080). Kyler Moore led the team with goals, finishing the season with three.
