Memphis, TN – The Maryville Saints Men's Soccer team opened the 2016 season with an impressive 2-1 victory over Christian Brothers University on the road in Memphis to give David Korn his first win as the Saints head coach.
 
Both teams used the first twenty minutes of the first half to get a feel for each other with neither team truly taking advantage on the offensive end of the pitch. Things changed midway through the half as Pontus Gitselov found the back of the goal with a header off a beautiful corner kick by Joergen Pettersen to give the Saints a 1-0 lead twenty-two minutes into the action. The Saints continued to put pressure on the Bucs over the next fifteen minutes and that pressure paid off as Helmut Florencia hit a rocket from the right side past a diving CBU keeper to give Maryville a 2-0 lead. Gitselov added to the score sheet with an assist on the goal, which turned out to be the game-winner.
 
The second half saw both teams continue to attack each other on numerous occasions with both Maryville goalkeeper Christian Kjaersgaard and Bucs goalkeeper Ricardo Lao making key saves throughout. The Bucs got on the scoreboard with eight minutes remaining in the game on a Brendan Bennett sliding shot that just got past Kjaersgaard to cut the Saints lead to 2-1. Maryville's defense took control of the game from that point to seal the road victory.
 
The Saints (1-0, 0-0 GLVC) were outshot 12-6 on the evening with Kjaersgaard making four saves in the winning effort. Xavi Lao paced the Bucs (0-1) with three shots on the night.
 
Maryville returns to action on Saturday afternoon as the Saints will take on Delta State in a 5 p.m. start in Memphis.