PEORIA, Ill. -- After going scoreless in its final two games of the 2005 season, as well as two preseason exhibition games leading up to the regular-season opener, the Bradley Soccer team's offense played to rave reviews Friday night as the Braves (1-0-0) downed St. Francis (Pa.) 3-0 in front of 1,516 fans in the second game of the Bradley Classic at Shea Stadium.
In Friday's tournament opener, Duquesne (1-0) came from behind to earn a 2-1 victory versus Western Michigan (0-1-0). The defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Braves will take on the three-time Atlantic 10 Conference co-champions in Saturday night's 7:30 championship game, which will immediately follow the contest between St. Francis (0-1-0) and Western Michigan.
Bradley pressured the visiting Red Flash from the outset in Friday's nightcap and nearly jumped ahead in the 15th minute on a tremendous diving header by Drew DeGurian. St. Francis keeper Brad Williams was perfectly positioned for the reaction save against DeGurian, but he had little chance to stop Bradley's next shot.
Showing little rust after missing the last two seasons while completing a church mission in Argentina, junior midfielder Ken Hickman (Ogden, Utah/Bonneville H.S.) created what proved to be the game-winner with great hustle. The St. Francis defense tried to connect a pass from deep on the right wing, but Hickman intercepted the ball and sprinted toward the goal box, then rifled a 16-yard shot inside the left post for his first goal since the 2003 season.
St. Francis earned its first shot on goal in the 31st minute, but junior Mike Haynes (Peoria, Ill./Dunlap H.S.) calmly collected the non-threating attempt to earn the first save by a Bradley keeper other than former All-American Chris Dunsheath since the 2001 season. Haynes added a much more difficult save in the second half to preserve a shutout in his first career appearance between the pipes for the Braves.
Bradley went to the locker room with a 2-0 halftime lead, thanks to another rocket goal from 2005 NSCAA High School All-American Chris Cutshaw (Carmel, Ind./Carmel H.S.) in the 34th minute. Cutshaw's goal came on a restart following a Red Flash foul on the left wing. Junior forward Nick Mentgen (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame H.S.) tapped the free kick to junior Mark Wallace (Carrollton, Texas/Creekview H.S.), who rolled a centering ball past a quartet of St. Francis players. Cutshaw collected the ball just inside the top of the box, spun and hit a liner into the back of the net.
Senior midfielder Zach Bell (Rochester, Ill./Rochester H.S.), who led the Braves in scoring in 2005 with eight goals and 18 points, finished off the scoring in the 89th minute by cleaning up a loose ball that Williams was unable to handle.
In Friday's tournament opener, Western Michigan took a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute when Tom Oatley sprung out of a scrum in the middle of the box and bounced a left-footed shot off the right post. The Dukes battled back for the equalizer in the 41st minute, however, when Travis MacKenzie hit the back of the net. Dan Morton earned the winner in the 51st minute by finishing off a tremendous counter attack.
