ANKENY, Iowa -- Three goals and a shutout was the recipe for success this afternoon, as Maranatha snatched a 3-0 win over Faith in the first matchup of the rivalry this season.
Michael Doese, Pedro Ribeiro, and Landon Broere all scored memorable goals in the win, as the Sabercats will look to ride the momentum into the second leg of the rivalry in Watertown next Saturday.
OVERVIEW
- Result: Maranatha 3-0 Faith
- Venue: Pyche Field, Faith Baptist Bible College
- Location: Ankeny, Iowa
- Attendance: 201
- Record: MBU (3-6-3), FBBC (4-8-0)
STORY
The Sabercats were the more dangerous team early on, as Pedro Ribeiro and Mike Davis threatened the Faith goal with early chances. The breakthrough moment came in the 25th minute, when Aaron Jones touched it to Michael Doese outside of the Faith penalty area. Doese picked out the lower-left corner with a bouncing shot to give Maranatha the 1-0 lead.
Matheus Ribeiro almost produced something spectacular, sending in a long ball from just in front of the Sabercats' bench that hit the crossbar and bounced away to safety. That was one of 10 shots that outweighed the 1 shot from Faith. The lead would hold entering halftime.
Faith poured on the pressure early in the second half, forcing a couple of diving saves out of Ian Balyo. At the other end of the field, the Sabercats were stymied by the Eagles' defense and in search of inspiration.
And in the 84th minute, the Ribeiro brothers provided just that. The play started with Landon Broere flicking the ball into Pedro Ribeiro's path near the center circle. Pedro fed it out to the win for his brother, Matheus, who cut inside near the top of the penalty area and slashed a shot towards the far corner. The ball ricocheted off the post and back out to the top of the box, where Pedro was poised to slot the ball low into the left corner to give Maranatha the crucial two-goal advantage.
With the Eagles all but defeated, there was still time for an encore performance from the right foot of Landon Broere. After a challenge from Aaron Jones knocked the ball to Broere, the sophomore composed himself and thrashed a shot into the upper corner from 25 yards away for a spectacular ending to the Sabercats' 3-0 win.
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Maranatha Starters: 00- Balyo, 3- Doese (C), 5- Jones, 8- Davis (C), 9- Ribeiro, 10- Schmidt, 11- Beachell, 16- Kirchner, 19- Miller, 23- Brock, 27- C. Balyo
STATS
- Shot count: Maranatha 20-8 Faith
- Doese: now leads Maranatha with 7 goals
- Jones: two assists
- M. Ribeiro: first collegiate assist
- P. Ribeiro: third goal of the season
- Ian Balyo: 3 saves in the shutout
- Last time: Faith won 1-0 in Ankeny last October
- Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Faith 12-3-1
OPPONENTS
- Faith competes in the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association - North Region
- Faith also competes in the Midwest Christian College Conference
- Faith finished the 2023 season with a record of 12-4-2
NEXT
The Sabercats travel to Lakeland University for a 3:00 p.m. kickoff in Plymouth, Wisconsin on Tuesday. Follow along at mbusabercats.com/schedule.
