Bolivar, Mo. – SBU men's soccer team finished their four-game week Sunday afternoon as they hosted Maryville University for the GLVC opener. The Bearcats made history defeating the Saints for the first time in program history 1-0. They gather three points towards the conference standings moving to 2-1-2 (1-0 GLVC) on the season.
 
"Just a great team win by the boys today. Everyone who played contributed, and the bench brought incredible energy. Very proud of this group." Head Coach Steve Bushre said.
 
The Bearcats energy level from the start gave them a quick edge, as they controlled possession early in the match. That ball control led to a cross into senior Callum Bisset, who then tucked ball past two defenders and the keeper to the back of the net, giving SBU a 1-0 lead in the 12^th minute. With that goal Bisset scored his second goal of the week and has still contributed to every Bearcat goal in 2024.
 
"Callum got us started with a great goal in the first half but it was the team defense that got the result. Our captains Gio and Oki, along with Victor and Marco in goal kept a well-deserved clean sheet."
 
The Bearcat back three of Victor Valero, Giovanni Cascone, and Okikiola Ojeniyi played a combined 264 minutes stopping nearly every attack on the Bearcat goal. Any ball that did get through was stopped by junior goalkeeper Marco Iñguez recording the first clean sheet of his SBU career. This was also the programs first shutout in GLVC play since 2021.
 
This win continues the Bearcats undefeated streak of four straight games, the longest streak since the reignition of the program in 2012. Entering the 2024 season, Maryville was picked to finish 3^rd in the GLVC whereas the Bearcats were picked to finish 15^th. The SBU win today over the 2022 GLVC Champions sends a message to the rest of the GLVC.
 
Southwest Baptist will continue GLVC action on Friday September 20^th as they host University of Missouri – St. Louis. The match is scheduled for 1:30pm at the SBU soccer field.