WBU Soccer Downs Lions in Non-Conference Finale

The Williams Baptist men's soccer team concluded non-conference play with a 2-1 victory over Freed-Hardeman Thursday afternoon at the WBU Soccer Field.

The Eagles were powered by a pair of goals from Adrian Briceno who scored goals in the 12th and 19th minutes and then held off a late charge from Lions to finish their non-conference slate with a 4-3 overall record.

Briceno gave WBU the lead and a jolt of early momentum in the 12th when Kyeron Daws connected with him on a ball in front of the net that allowed Briceno to bury it by the Lions' goalkeeper for the early advantage. 

Briceno scored again in the 19th minute on a long pass from Alfonso Madrigal that gave Briceno room to work and find an opportunity to score and give the Eagles a two edge. 

After that the game fell into a rhythm where neither side saw many quality scoring opportunities. The Eagles outshot the Lions 12-8 and held a 3-1 edge in corner kicks, but nothing was able to challenge either keeper until the 69th minute when Freed-Hardeman capitalized on a WBU mistake.

Rodrigo Pina misplayed a ball coming out of his box and Lawson Ashby was in the right place at the right time to collect the misplay and put the ball into a wide open net to cut the deficit in half. 

Freed-Hardeman attempted to turn up the pressure for the remainder of the half, but the Eagles defense was up for the challenge and kept the Lions from finding the equalizer.

Williams will return to the field Saturday, Sept. 30 for its American Midwest Conference home opener against Harris-Stowe State. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at the WBU Soccer Field.