Another close one: Bradley 1, Western 0
JUSTIN PHELPS
PEORIA – The Bradley men’s soccer team defeated Western Illinois by a goal Friday night in the Holiday Inn City Centre Classic.
Wouldn’t expect any less from a Braves-Leathernecks soccer match.
Midfielder Luke Kreamalmeyer ripped a shot to the left post in the 35th minute for a 1-0 lead and a Bradley victory at Shea Stadium.
It’s the seventh straight meeting Bradley (2-1) has won by a goal over Western (1-3).
“Western Illinois and us have always played one-goal games,” BU coach Jim DeRose said. “I can’t remember the last one that wasn’t a one-goal game,”
Kreamalmeyer gave BU the lead at 35:13 when he took Nick Mentgen’s pass to the top right corner of the penalty area. Kreamalmeyer put a low blast to the left post and past Western goalkeeper David Hanlon.
“Mentgen gave me a great ball and I ran at their defense and they kept backing up,” Kreamalmeyer said. “I saw the back post open and I guess the goalie didn’t see it.”
The crowd of 1,345 nearly saw the match tied late in the contest.
Western’s Andy Swentik had two shots in the final three minutes, including one that deflected off BU midfielder Adam Hage and the post with goalkeeper Chris Dunsheath off his line.
Dunsheath, who was attempting to snag a high header but lost control of the ball while being challenged, recorded his second shutout of the season.
“It was a good challenge,” DeRose said. “The guy went up and made a real nice, fair, hard challenge and just jarred it loose a little bit. We were lucky Adam Hage got a touch on it and knocked it wide.”
Swentik’s other chance, off one of two Western corner kicks in the last minute, was stopped by Dunsheath.
“Bradley and Western is always like this,” Western coach Eric Johnson said. “But it just seems like we can’t get their number yet. One of these days we’ll get it, but it’s been a dry spell for us.”
In the first match of the tournament, Southwest Missouri State (2- 0-1) defeated Oregon State (1-3), 2-1 behind Danny May’s game-winner in the 61st minute.
Corner kicks: Bradley leads the all-time series against Western 11- 6-0. … With the victory, DeRose is tied for third-place on the Missouri Valley Conference all-time victory list with former Creighton coach Bret Simon. The nine-year Bradley coach is 96-60-13 and sits eight wins behind current Creighton coach Bob Warming. … Kreamalmeyer didn’t start because of a groin injurym but played a majority of the game after entering in the 21st minute. … Dunsheath, who was suffering from a quadriceps injury earlier this season, didn’t punt the ball Friday but said his leg is okay. With the shutout, the junior goalkeeper needs 41/2 more to tie the school’s career mark set by Adam Gross from 1997 to 2000.
Copyright 2004
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