PEORIA, Ill. -- Junior midfielder Drew DeGurian buried a rocket shot in the 25th minute and Bradley (4-4-1) tacked on a pair of goals in the second half while playing with a man advantage, cruising to a 3-0 men's soccer victory versus Robert Morris (3-4-1) in the second game of the Holiday Inn City Centre Classic Friday night at Shea Stadium.
In the tournament's opening game, Alabama A&M forward MfanaFuthi Bhembe caught keeper Lance Parker out of position for the game's only goal in the 16th minute as the Bulldogs earned a 1-0 victory versus Missouri State. Bradley wil take on Alabama A&M in Saturday's tournament finale (7:30 p.m.) in what now amounts to the championship game of the 10th Holiday Inn City Centre Classic. Missouri State will face Robert Morris in the consolation game at five o'clock at Shea Stadium.
In Friday's nightcap, the two 2005 NCAA Tournament teams seemed to be feeling each other out for the game's opening 20 minutes until DeGurian single-handedly swung the momentum to the Braves in the 25th minute. DeGurian intercepted a Robert Morris pass on the right flank, dribbled to about 25 yards out and ripped a laser past Colonials keeper Matt Felice for his second goal of the season.
Robert Morris went a man down in the 41st minute when reserve Steve Nese caught Bradley freshman back Travis English in the face with an elbow in front of the Braves bench, drawing a straight red card.
Although the shot count continued to build in Bradley's favor, it took a while before the Braves took full advantage of the man advantage. Junior Ken Hickman finally broke through in the 73rd minute, shooting into an open net after Felice tried to challenge Zach Bell's possession near the penalty spot. Bradley completed the scoring in the 87th minute when freshman Justin Bigelow pushed home a loose ball at the left post following a corner kick.
Benefittng from the extra player, Bradley outshot Robert Morris 12-3 in the second half and finished with a 20-9 overall advantage in the game. Senior goalkeeper Mike Haynes needed to make just two saves to earn his second straight shutout (third overall).
The win was Bradley's third straight by at least three goals and extended its school-record, regular-season home unbeaten streak to 13 games (12-0-1).
