BELMONT, NC - The Belmont Abbey men's soccer team moved to 4-8-2 and 3-6 in conference play following a 1-0 loss to Mt. Olive this afternoon.  The Trojans are now 4-8-1, with a 3-5 conference record.

Belmont Abbey's offense got off to a good start, taking three shots in a two-minute span early in the game.  In the 12th minute, Mt. Olive scored a goal to go up 1-0.  Belmont Abbey responded by taking one shot after another, including a header by senior Clay Dimick that only missed the goal by a few inches, and gave the Crusaders momentum.  The Abbey defenders also had some tricks up their sleeves as they forced Mt. Olive to commit quite a few offsides.  Freshman Steven Pate ended the first half with a long-range shot that barely sailed high.  Mt. Olive led 1-0 at halftime.

The Abbey kept shooting, particularly Dimick, who got two shots in the opening minutes of the second.  The defense continued to play in a manner that got Mt. Olive to commit three offsides in a 15-minute span.  Junior Patrick Kibler gave the Abbey one more try with a shot in the last minute that went high.  Mt. Olive won the match 1-0.

On the day, the Crusaders outshot the Trojans 12-4.  The Abbey took 10 corner kicks to Mt. Olive's five.

Belmont Abbey will next take on Catawba on Tuesday, October 25 at 7:30 pm in Salisbury, NC.