PEORIA, Ill.
? Alabama A&M junior midfielder Rogers Atugonza redirected a corner kick into the net from four yards out in the 27th minute, helping the Bulldogs on their way to a 2-0 victory over Bradley in the second game of the Country Inn & Suites Homecoming Classic at Shea Stadium, Friday night.
The deflection from Atuzonga came off a Bulldog corner kick and was the first Alabama A&M (6-3-2) shot of the game. The next shot from the visitors didn't come until the 44th minute, when MfanaFuthi Bhembe, who entered the contest tied for the nation's scoring lead, sent a blast into the top left corner of the net past Bradley (4-4-1) goalkeeper Drew Van Kampen (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley H.S.) for a 2-0 lead. The goal was the 10th of the season for Bhembe, who also assisted on the game-winner by Atugonza earlier in the half.
The Braves held a 4-2 advantage in shots during the first 45 minutes, but both shot attempts from the Bulldogs found the back of the net.
In the second half, the Bulldogs kept the pressure on the Braves, firing eight shots in the period. Van Kampen stopped all three shots that were on goal. The Braves took eight shots total, two coming from junior forward Chris Cutshaw (Carmel, Ind./Carmel H.S.)
The Braves used 19 players total in the contest, as junior defenders Travis English (Tucson, Ariz./Catalina Foothills H.S.) and Grant Campbell (Littleton, Colo./Chatfield H.S.) joined freshman Bobby Smith (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart-Griffin H.S.) and Van Kampen in playing the full 90 minutes.
In the tournament opener, Missouri State used Heath Melugin's first goal of the season just 3:30 into the contest to jump start the Bears to a 2-0 win over Howard. Melugin scored on an empty net after a Howard turnover deep in the box. Johannes Demarzi added insurance for the Bears in the 69th minute when a clearing attempt on the Bison goal line deflected off Demarzi into the back of the net.
The four-team tournament concludes Saturday. Alabama A&M will play Missouri State in the championship game at 5 p.m., followed by the Braves hosting Howard at 7:30 p.m.
