The Lions (1-0), whose roster features 14 international players, took an early 1-0 lead in the 10th minute when an MVNU defender scored an own goal while attempting to clear a corner kick as his clearing shot ricocheted off a Bryan player and into the back of the net.

The Lions extended their lead to 2-0 in the 17th minute when Raphael Correa took a cross from Lyle Gifford off a corner kick and scored.

The Cougars (0-1) had a chance to cut into the lead late in the first half, but a shot into a seemingly empty net was cleared off the goal line by a Bryan defender to keep the Lions’ lead intact at 2-0 heading to the half.

In the second half, MVNU did slice the lead in half in the 55th minute when senior forward Adam Worrall (left), the team’s leading scorer from a year ago, was taken down in the box. Worrall converted the ensuing penalty kick to trim the lead to 2-1 as he registered his 23rd career goal.

The Cougars had several other chances as the match wore on as both Worrall and junior midfielder Chris Mast had shots cleared away from the net by defenders and another diving header just missed. However, MVNU was unable to get the equalizer as Bryan held on for the 2-1 victory.

“We knew that Bryan was a very good team and we felt like it was going to be a tough match for us tonight,” said MVNU head coach Paul Furey. “It was a tale of two halves. I thought Bryan played extremely well especially in the second part of the first half and maybe had some momentum from the early goal. We had a great chance early on with a breakaway but failed to take advantage of it. I think that could have made a difference in the match.”

“We did respond very nicely in the second half,” Furey continued. “We talked about getting one (goal) back and how that would propel us into the momentum we needed to equalize. We did a great job in creating that as Adam got us back in it, and then we had some great chances to equalize. We had two balls cleared off the line and a diving header by Scott (Forster) that just missed. We just came up a bit short. We’ll regroup and try to get one win down here before we head back. There were some encouraging things today and there were some things that we need to address and improve.”

Both teams recorded 11 shots in the match with the Lions holding a 7-6 edge in shots on goal and a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks. Junior goalkeeper Alex Stout stopped five shots for the Cougars, while Bryan’s Rodrigo Pigatto posted two saves in addition to the three defender saves.

MVNU will look to bounce back on Saturday when the Cougars will square off with Campbellsville (Ky.) University, who defeated Cincinnati Christian University 6-1 in Friday’s other match. Kick-off is slated for 2:00 p.m.