CLEVELAND, Miss. — The Delta State University men's soccer team battled back in the second half, but Union University held on for a 2-1 victory over the Statesmen Wednesday afternoon at Delta Field.
Union (2-4-0, 1-1-0 GSC) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening half. Decker Burns opened the scoring in the 24th minute, with Solomon Pela providing the assist. Ashanie Kennedy added another goal in the 33rd minute off an assist from Freddie Westfall to give the Bulldogs a two-goal advantage at halftime.
Delta State (2-3-1, 0-1-0 GSC) responded early in the second half. Ivan Gomez put the Statesmen on the board in the 55th minute, scoring his first goal of the season off an assist from Sioni Benham to cut the deficit to 2-1.
The Statesmen continued to pressure the Union defense throughout the remainder of the match but were unable to find the equalizer. Delta State finished with a 16-7 advantage in shots and held an 8-4 edge in corner kicks. Six of the Statesmen's 16 shots were on target.
Daniel Santema recorded one save for Delta State, while Union goalkeeper Patrick Schott made five saves to preserve the Bulldogs' victory.
Callum Black led the Statesmen with three shots, while Matthew Nicklas and Sioni Benham each recorded two. Gomez's second-half goal marked his first goal of the season.
Delta State will look to bounce back in its next contest as the Statesmen continue GSC play this Saturday at Delta Field against the Chargers from UAH at approximately 3:30 p.m.
