Miners give up first goal -- and suffer first loss of year

Andy Held

The Miner soccer team put their undefeated record and unscored upon status on the line Sunday against a team that has been its nemesis throughout the years -- and the nemesis got the better of it on the scoreboard.

UMR gave up its first goal of the season early in the second half and it turned out to be all Rockhurst would need to escape from the UMR Soccer Field with a 1-0 victory over the MIners in the Great Lakes Valley Conference opener for both teams.

The Miners and Hawks both entered the game with 3-0 records and the game was a defensive battle all afternoon. UMR had the edge in shots in the first half by an 8-3 margin, but neither team was able to dent the net.

A defensive mistake by UMR in the opening minute of the second half ended up leading to the game's decisive moment. The Miners made a poor clearing attempt in the box and Rockhurst's Tom Heinemann, the third-leading goal scorer in the GLVC, pounced on the loose ball and sent a shot past Miner goalkeeper Mike McNamee just 43 seconds into the second half.

From there, the Miners had a tough time navigating through Rockhurst's defense for scoring chances, as they were held to just three shots after the Heinemann goal. UMR -- which has just one win over Rockhurst in the history of the program -- ended up outshooting the Hawks 11-9, with Andy Held taking five of the shots.

McNamee was credited with two saves on the day as only three of Rockhurst's nine shots were on net.

UMR (3-1, 1-0 GLVC) will face Drury Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the UMR Soccer Field; the game is a make-up game from Friday's rained out contest.