The Dordt University men's soccer team delivered a thrilling second-half performance to earn a 4-2 comeback victory over #11 Bellevue (Neb.) on Saturday afternoon at the Defender Soccer Complex.
After trailing 1-0 at halftime, the Defenders erupted for four goals in the final 45 minutes to secure their second consecutive win and move to
4-4-3 overall.
Bellevue opened the scoring in the 14th minute when Jeremiah Hteh capitalized on a pass from Adam Sherwood to give the Bruins an early lead.
The momentum shifted dramatically in the second half.
Trigve Elkins sparked the rally with a goal in the 57th minute, assisted by
Stephen Schreurs on a through ball just past midfield. Just six minutes later,
Anton Forsch stepped up and buried a penalty kick to put Dordt ahead. Forsch duplicated that score from the penalty spot in the 66th minute, extending the lead to 3-1.
Tyson Reitsma added the fourth goal for Dordt in the 68th minute on a great set piece, bending a shot around the Bruins wall, and capping a dominant stretch that saw the Defenders score three goals in just over 10 minutes.
Bellevue pulled one back in the 87th minute with a goal from
Kyi Nicholson, but Dordt's defense held firm to close out the match.
By the Numbers:
- Dordt held a 16-15 advantage in total shots, including a 12-4 edge in the second half
- both teams managed 11 shots on-goal
- three Defenders, Elkins, Forsch and Jacob Narkis, all had two shots on-frame
- Shad Jaeger (3-3-2) made eight saves in the full 90 minutes
- Dordt played a total of 25 players as the temperature was above 90 degrees most of the match
- Bruins' goalie Kaden Simpson (6-6-1) made six saves
- Bellevue's forward tandem of Adam Sherwood (3) and Jeremiah Hteh (5) combined for eight of the Bruins 11 shots on-goal
- this was the Bruins 8th match vs a GPAC team; they are now 6-2 against teams from the GPAC
- today's match was the final non-conference match for the Defenders
Defender Notes:
- Dordt improved to 3-10 all-time against Bellevue
- this was the Defenders first win against the Bruins since 1999 (3-2)
- Dordt has given up two goals or less in 10 of 11 matches this season
- Elkins and Forsch are now tied for the team lead, along with Marco Laenen, with three goals this season
- Schreurs recorded his first career assist
- the Defenders 11 shots on-goal was tied for the second most this season (14 vs Waldorf, 11 vs Providence)
- this was the first win against a ranked opponent since the GPAC Quarterfinal in 2023 vs Concordia
Up Next:
- Dordt begins a two-match road swing on Wednesday, Oct. 8 against Morningside; kickoff at 5:30pm
