By: Donald Menke ~Guest Writer~

It was a gritty 1-0 win for the men’s soccer team on Saturday night against a tough Bucknell squad. Xavier controlled possession throughout the first half and had a 4-2 advantage over Bucknell on shots, but the score remained 0-0 at half. The Bucknell defense proved to be stout and caused Xavier to remain goalless.

In the second half, Bucknell had a chance in the 50th minute to pull ahead, but Chris Moore, a redshirt junior from Louisville, Kent., made a stop to keep the game level. Within three minutes, Moore gave Xavier the 1-0 lead when he came free of his defender at the top of the box and fired a low line drive to the right past Bucknell keeper Mike Lansing following a pass from redshirt junior forward Jalen Brown.

It was Moore’s second goal of the season and Brown’s second assist of the year. After the goal, it was a back and forth affair with neither team controlling possession nor gaining an advantage in shots, keeping both teams tied with seven shots apiece.

Bucknell created multiple chances toward the end of the match to even the game. Bucknell fired a shot with 43 seconds left, but it went just wide of the post, all but ending the game. The loss dropped the Bucknell squad to 3-3-1 on the season. The win ended Xavier’s losing streak but was not enough to push the Musketeers back into the rankings as they received only 21 votes.

Xavier continued the win streak with a 2-0 victory over IPFW. Senior midfielder Alex Ridsdale scored a goal with an acrobatic bicycle kick in the first minute, while sophomore forward Matt Vasquenza added another in the 17th minute.

It was Xavier’s third straight shutout, and fourth straight win. The team’s record improved to 5-2-0 on the season, with the win streak following a two game losing streak. Xavier begins conference play with a match at 2 p.m. on Sept. 26 against Depaul.