Lyon College Men’s Soccer Team Gets it Done in Opener

BATESVILLE – The Lyon College men’s soccer team continued to put offensive pressure on the Central Baptist College Mustangs Friday afternoon, but had trouble putting the ball in the goal. But in a span of 55 seconds late in the second half, junior midfield Jack Hayes drew a pair of penalty shots and cashed them in to lead the Scots to a come-from-behind 2-1 win in the season opener for both teams at J. Marshall Huser Field.

On paper the contest was one-sided in favor of Lyon. But despite outshooting the Mustangs 10-1 in the first half and settling for a scoreless tie, the Scots found themselves trailing 1-0 after 62 minutes when Central Baptist’s Jeyson Caballero took a pass from Justin Travis and found the back of the net.

But the Scots didn’t stop putting on pressure. Finishing the match with a 23-7 advantage in shots and an 11-2 margin on shots on goal, Lyon College put the contest away when Hayes drew a pair of penalties.

The first came with 5:18 left on the clock when Hayes was fouled by the Mustangs’ Tayor Carnahan in the box. Hayes sliced a shot to the left side of the goal, outguessing CBC keeper Brady Harvey and tying the score.

With renewed momentum, Lyon continued to push the ball on after the kickoff. Just 55 seconds after the first score, Hayes was awarded a penalty kick when Central Baptist defender Marvin Carpio was called for a hand ball in the box. Once again Hayes elected to try to the left side of the goal and he outsmarted Harvey again, putting Lyon on top 2-1 with 4:23 remaining.

The Scots’ defense took over after that and Lyon improved to 1-0 on the young season.

Hayes finished the match with a game-high six shots, including five on goal. Lyon freshmanBenjamin Elton also saw a lot of playing time, tallied five shots, with two coming on goal. FreshmanJack Fleming (Sherwood, Ark.) attempted five shots and junior Gianfranco Panto came off the bench to attempt three.

Adan Carvajal led the Mustangs (0-1) with two shots.

Lyon College goalkeeper Rob Brown allowed one goal and picked up the win. Harvey took the loss in goal for the Mustangs.

Lyon College will now take five days off before beginning a four-match road trip. The Scots to travel to McKenzie, Tenn. on Wednesday to face Bethel University (2 p.m.) before going to Longview, Tex. to face Wiley College on Sept. 6 and then battling Texas College on Sept. 7 at 2 p.m. in Tyler, Tex.

The next home action for the Scots will be Sept. 13 against Texas Wesleyan University (4 p.m.).

Courtesy Lyon College Department of Athletics