Clarksville, Ark.-Freshman forward Bryce Young made his presence known by scoring a pair of goals to lead the University of the Ozarks men's soccer team to a 2-1 win over Westminster College (Mo.) and give new Head Coach Matt Torok his first win at Ozarks.
"Coach (Wilson) Jones and I are excited that this squad earned their first collegiate victory of the season and that the young guys got a taste of a high level match early in the year and were able to rise to the challenge," said Torok. "This is a great group of guys to coach. It is a pleasure to coach a team that is committed to the cause. They came out against a team that advanced to the NCAA Division III Sweet 16 last season and got a result. Westminster is a fantastic, scrappy team and our guys hung in there, and competed all day long. This match was typically of a mid-season conference match, and I'm excited they performed at such a high level."
Torok started seven freshmen in the victory, and a number of them delivered solid play against a strong program. The Eagles (1-1-1) needed time to build an attack as Westminster (1-2-0) came out early and played well in the first fifteen minutes. However, the young Ozarks' team turned things around shortly thereafter by pushing their offensive attack up the field. Young eventually broke the Westminster backline and ripped a shot past the goalkeeper in the 21st minute. Alex Ross received the assist. Young and his teammates weren't done though as they continued to put pressure on the Blue Jay defense. Young provided a beautiful run through a number of defenders to score his second goal in the 23rd minute. Shaun Keane set up Young's goal with a perfect pass through the middle of the defense. With momentum on its side, Ozarks finished out the half strong and held a 2-0 advantage.
"Bryce was dynamic scoring his first collegiate goals and our back four of Daniel Valencia, Luke Byrne, Travis Leach and Emilio Vega were solid all day. They deserve so much of the credit along with goalkeeper Luis Mena, who made some key saves to receive a win in his first collegiate start between the pipes. They know to enjoy it tonight because we are facing a very good NAIA John Brown University team Monday night."
In the second half, Westminster secured a goal in the 73rd minute off a header in the box. However, the reigning St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Champions were unable to post another score.
Mena recorded one save in his first collegiate start. Young and Ross each had two shots for Ozarks.
Ozarks will travel to Siloam Springs to face JBU September 8.
