This was the first of 2 matchups against Faith, as the Sabercats will host the Eagles on Thursday to continue a six-game stretch of NCCAA North Region opponents.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 2-1 Faith
• Venue: Pyche Field, Faith Baptist Bible College
• Location: Ankeny, Iowa
• Attendance: 132
• Record: MBU (2-4-0), FBBC (4-2-0)

STORY

The first half was a stalemate, as both teams traded chances. Strong defensive play from Kendall Elms and Ethan Cooper kept the Eagles scoreless, and the Sabercats just couldn't find a way through at the other end. It was a high-energy first half but neither team looked threatening.

Whatever the half-time team talks were, both teams seemed to apply the lessons. Just 3 minutes into the second half, Braeden Hansel sent in a long free kick into the Faith penalty area, and Joshua Wright lept up to head the ball into the bottom corner. Advantage: Maranatha.

Braeden — Buddy — 1-0 pic.twitter.com/f3mGSiNPLy

— Maranatha Athletics (@MBUSabercats) September 26, 2021

As if it was a knee-jerk reaction, Faith responded within a minute. Carson Odle finished a pass from Joshua Forgie to equalize, and in that 30-second blitz, the game went from scoreless to 1-1.

But it didn't take long for the Sabercats to regroup and for Wright to find the back of the net again. After Matthew Harris' hard defending forced a giveaway in midfield, Wright smacked a shot from 25 yards that deflected up and over the Faith goalkeeper for the 2-1 lead.

Aaron Jones almost iced the cake when he broke behind the back line 20 minutes later, but after his shot crashed off the underside of the crossbar, Thomas Holloway's follow-up effort was cleared off the line by a Faith defender.

That close.

As the game wore on, it was clear that Faith would make it a barn-burner. The Eagles peppered the Sabercats but couldn't find a way past Elms and goalkeeper Ian Balyo. The freshman shot-stopper made key plays down the stretch to deny Faith, and a back line of Johnathan Perkins, Michael Cripps, and Philip Holloway kept the Eagles off the scoresheet when it mattered most.

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Maranatha Starters: 00- Balyo, 2- T. Holloway, 3- Elms (C), 5- Jones, 9- Wright (C), 11- Cummins, 16- Kirchner, 18- P. Holloway, 20- Cooper (C), 21- Hansel (C), 23- Perkins

STATS

• Shot count: Maranatha 13-4 Faith
• Wright: First collegiate brace
• Hansel: 1 assist
• Ian Balyo: 2 saves
• Last time: Faith defeated Maranatha 1-0 in their Regional matchup on November 5, 2020
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Faith 10-2-1

OPPONENTS

• Faith competes in the Midwest Christian College Conference
• Faith competes with Maranatha in the NCCAA DII North Region
• Faith is off to their best start to a season since 2018, when they went 6-2 in September

NEXT

The Sabercats head home to host Faith on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. Catch all the action at mbusabercats.com/schedule.