Kansas City, Mo. – The SBU men's soccer team continued its undefeated start to the 2026 season Friday afternoon, cruising past Avila University 7-0 at The Z. The victory moves the Bearcats to 3-0-1 on the season.
Joe Wright opened the scoring in the 14th minute, finding the back of the net off an assist from
Nathaniel Velasquez. SBU doubled its advantage late in the opening half as
Christian Cruz scored in the 42nd minute with
Thomas Ladetto picking up the assist, sending the Bearcats into halftime ahead 2-0.
The SBU offense exploded coming out of the break, scoring four goals in less than 10 minutes. Velasquez started the run in the 47th minute off an assist from
Felipe Gilberti before Wright scored his second goal of the afternoon less than a minute later.
Velasquez added his second goal of the match on a penalty kick in the 51st minute, giving the Bearcats a commanding 5-0 advantage. Wright completed his hat trick just five minutes later, scoring off an assist from Étienne Breton.
Jurrien-Dior Odoi put the finishing touches on the victory in the final minute, scoring his first goal of his career to give SBU the 7-0 win.
Wright led the Bearcat attack with three goals on five shots, while Velasquez finished with two goals and an assist. Cruz and Odoi each added a goal, while Ladetto, Gilberti and Breton joined Velasquez with assists.
Southwest Baptist dominated the offensive numbers, outshooting Avila 29-4 and putting 20 shots on goal. The Bearcat defense did not allow a single shot on goal throughout the entire 90 minutes.
The Bearcats have now scored 24 goals across their first four games, only two goals less than all of last season. They end non-conference play with a perfect 3-0 record, with their already one tie in conference play. SBU will take this 3-0-1 record back into GLVC play beginning on Sunday as they travel to Lincoln University at 2:30 p.m.
