Buena Vista, VA - The Southern Virginia University men's soccer team continued a challenging start to their conference schedule by welcoming Brevard College to Knights Stadium. After enduring a defensive stalemate for most of the afternoon, Brevard's attackers were the only ones to find the back of the net, leaving Buena Vista with a 1-0 victory to remain undefeated in league play.
After an early save by Dallin Chappell in the first half, Brevard capitalized on another scoring chance to open the scoring in the twelfth minute. They managed to control the play for most of the first frame, minimizing chances for Southern Virginia's attackers and forcing Chappell to make several point blank saves. Brevard outshot the Knights heavily in the first half, but red card issues in the final minutes before halftime would provide the Knights with an opportunity to swing the momentum back in their favor for the second half.
Benjamin Simister led a more determined Knights' attack in the second half, sending several shots just wide of the cage. Southern Virginia's best opportunity came in the 80th minute when Simister labeled a loose ball for the top-left corner, only to be turned away by the crossbar. Due to being a man down, Brevard tightened their defensive scheme and did their best to keep attackers outside of the box. The Knights saved their best play for the remaining ten minutes, putting relentless pressure on the Brevard side of the field. Unfortunately for the Knights, it would not be enough as they fell by a final score of 1-0 and remain in search of their first win in league play.
Southern Virginia will look to return to the win column on Saturday when they host Methodist, the defending regular season champion of the USA South. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 PM. For the most up-to-date information and details on the team, visit knight athletics.com and follow @knightmsoccer on Instagram.
