WATERTOWN, Wis. -- The Sabercats had a two-goal lead two times today, but let the lead slip away in the second half in a wild 4-5 loss to Eureka College on the MBU campus.

Michael Doese scored two goals and dished out two assists while Pedro Ribeiro scored his first collegiate goal in the disappointing loss.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 4-5 Eureka
• Venue: Maranatha Baptist University
• Location: Watertown, Wis. 
• Attendance: 125
• Record: MBU (0-2-2), EC (2-6-0) 

STORY

It was all about the Sabercats in the early minutes, as the Sabercats created two goals in the opening 20 minutes. The first was an adroit close-range shot from Cameron Beachell off of a Michael Doese corner kick. Beachell flicked the bouncing ball through traffic and into the lower left-hand corner to give the Sabercats the 1-0 lead.

Seven minutes later, Doese transitioned from provider to finisher, smashing a deflected shot off of an inviting pass from Robert Lemon at the top of the Eureka penalty area. Just like that, it was all going right for Maranatha.

But Eureka fought back, as Jacob Russow and Jayce Kabesa both placed long shots into the top-right corner to tie the game before 30 minutes had gone by.

In response, the Sabercats restored the two-goal lead within six minutes. Lemon and Doese connected again, this time, Lemon's shot was turned away by the Eureka goalkeeper to the right side of the goal area, where Doese was ready and waiting to fire his shot into the top-right corner to restore the lead for Maranatha.

Doese's final involvement came at the 36-minute mark, when he sent a ball behind the Eureka defenders to a hard-charging Pedro Ribeiro. Ribeiro brought the ball to the top of the Red Devil's penalty area, and smashed his first collegiate goal in off the post to celebrate an insurance goal and a personal milestone in style. Going into halftime, the Sabercats had the momentum and the lead.

But all of that dissipated within 12 minutes. After a tidy finish from Michael DeCarlo to make it 4-3, Eureka's Pascal Calonges scored twice in a four-minute span to allow the Red Devils to snatch the win on the MBU campus.

The Sabercats pressed for an equalizer late in the game, but the closest they came was a header from Grant Brock that was turned away by the Eureka goalkeeper.
 

Even four goals weren't enough in today's high-scoring match.

Congratulations to ???? Pedro Ribeiro on his first collegiate goal, and to Michael Doese on his 2-goal, 2-assist showing! pic.twitter.com/N83wmJ7t1a

— Maranatha Athletics (@MBUSabercats) September 18, 2024

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Maranatha Starters: 00- I. Balyo, 3- Doese (C), 5- Jones, 7- Lemon, 8- Davis (C), 11- Beachell, 16- Kirchner, 19- Miller, 20- P. Holloway (C), 23- Brock, 27- C. Balyo

STATS

• Shot count: Maranatha 11-32 Eureka
• Doese: four goals in four games
• Ribeiro: first goal of his collegiate career
• Cameron Beachell: first goal of the season
• Series: this was the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

OPPONENTS

• Eureka competes in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NCAA-Dlll)
• Eureka has opened the 2024 season with competitive losses powerful NCAA DIII opponents

NEXT

The Sabercats travel to Michigan this weekend to take on Andrews and Kuyper. Follow along at mbusabercats.com/schedule.