BELMONT, N.C. — After the first two Conference Carolinas matches on the road, the Belmont Abbey men's soccer team returned home to face Converse in its first league home match of the season Saturday night at Alumni Field.

It was a close scoreless battle for the first 70 minutes but a late Converse goal proved to be the difference as Belmont Abbey was defeated 1-0 by the Valkyries.

With Saturday's results, Belmont Abbey is now 2-2-2 overall and 1-1-1 in conference play. Converse is 4-1-1 overall and 2-0-0 in league play.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first shot of the match for the Crusaders came from Jesse Coleman in the 29th minute while Adam Cooil had the first shot on target late in the half.
• Will Whitman tallied three saves in his time on the pitch before Trent McConnaughey entered the match in the final 20 minutes.
• Converse's goal came in the 73rd minute of the match.
• Darren Lawlor and Marcos Frias had the other shots on goal for the Abbey.
• Both teams had four shots in the second half. Converse had a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal.
• Belmont Abbey also had three corner kicks.

UP NEXT

• The Crusaders host North Greenville at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Alumni Field.
• It is the first year that Belmont Abbey and NGU are in the Northwest Division.