Belle’s Tiger soccer team got their first victory of the season by defeating Maranatha Baptist Academy 8-5 last Tuesday at the Kingsford Soccer Complex. 

Leading the Tigers' offensive explosion was Will Doss. He found the back of the net three times for a hat trick and Dru Baumgartner added two goals and two assists. Peyton Moran got the win in goal as he stopped eight shots.

"It was nice for us to get a win" first-year Belle Tiger head soccer coach Scott Moran said. "The boys have been working very hard and it was good to see them get a result that showed off some of that effort. It was also nice to get a win at home in front of all of the supporters."

Jumping out to a quick lead in the first five minutes of the game, Baumgartner pushed up the field and slid a shot past the Maranatha goalkeeper. Nearly ten minutes later, Jason White scooted up the field and out raced the Maranatha defense to put in a beautiful shot and give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. 

After a Maranatha goal cut the Tiger lead in half, Baumgartner fired a shot into the back of the Maranatha goal to make the score 3-1 before Doss got his first goal after an aggressive push from Kaleb Miller won the ball at midfield to give the Tigers a 4-1 lead. 

Maranatha scored a goal right before the half to make the score 4-2 at halftime.

Belle increased the lead to 5-2 as Doss scored his second goal of the afternoon on a blazing shot from in front of the net. 

Maranatha wouldn't quit, as they responded with two quick tallies to make it 5-4. Maranatha pushed forward for the equalizer but Moran made a nice save from just inside the 18 yard mark to thwart the effort. 

Immediately switching to offense, Logan Miller banged home a shot from in front of the net to increase the lead to 6-4. Seizing the momentum, the Tigers controlled the ball again and pushed up from the midfield and scored again when Gavin Snodgrass fired in a shot from long range to push the lead back to three goals to 7-4. 

After Maranatha scored again, the Tigers finished the scoring when Baumgartner played a wonderful cross through the middle and found a streaking Doss, who headed the ball into the back of the net to make the score 8-5.

"They were tough and a good team," said Moran. "I give them a ton of credit. I liked how our kids responded to the challenge. Every time that they scored, we answered. Our kids are very resilient and it showed today."

The Tigers had come off a heartbreaking loss to Dixon the day before in Dixon, as they lost by a 5-2 score. The Tigers had a 2-1 lead at halftime on goals by Baumgartner and White, but couldn't hold the lead in the second half.

"We played really well in the first half and controlled the tempo," Moran said. "We really played well but I think we were just a little tired at the end of the game." 

Tied at 2-2 with nine minutes remaining, Dixon was able to score the tie-breaking goal. The Tigers then were forced to try to push the ball up the field and Dixon was able to convert two additional scores in the last five minutes.

"The game was a lot closer than the final score looks," said Moran. "We had to try to go forward when they scored the third goal and got caught up the field a bit, but those things happen when you try to play catch up. I am really proud of the kids effort. We only had 11 kids and were without one of our senior leaders in Luke Akins, who was out with an injury. So to come up here and play as well as we did was a testament to how hard the kids played."

Hosting Crocker’s Lions Monday afternoon, the Tigers fell 9-3 to the visitors.

Belle will return to action on the pitch tomorrow (Thursday) on the road in Ashland, Mo., against Southern Boone’s Eagles.