JEFFERSON, La. -- Senior Braeden Templin broke a scoreless tie in the 52nd minute before sophomore Constantin Bauer struck for a brace in the second half as No. 13 John Brown overcame a sizable shooting disparity to shut out No. 25 Xavier (La.), 3-0, Friday night (Sept. 4) at Lafreniere Park.
It was the Blue and Gold's first road victory over a top-25 program since a 2-1 win at Southwestern Christian (Okla.) on Oct. 16, 2018.
The final score hardly reflected how much pressure John Brown (3-0-0) absorbed early. Xavier (2-2-0) outshot the Golden Eagles 8-1 over the opening 45 minutes and generated the first six attempts of the match, but junior goalkeeper Juan Almanza, Templin and the JBU defense carried a scoreless match into halftime.
Almanza made two saves in the opening half, while Templin supplied another crucial stop with a defensive save in the 11th minute. John Brown's lone first-half attempt did not come until Bauer sent a shot wide in the 35th.
The momentum changed entirely as the visitors generated two shots in the opening three minutes of the second half before Templin put John Brown ahead at 51:35. Senior Amaury Jarry picked up the assist on Templin's first goal of the season.
Xavier continued producing opportunities even after falling behind, but Almanza repeatedly kept the Gold Nuggets off the board.
He stopped an attempt in the 62nd minute, made consecutive saves in the 67th and 69th and added another in the 71st. Just 44 seconds after that final stop, the Blue and Gold doubled its advantage.
Bauer converted a Gabriel Cabrera assist in the 71st minute for his second goal of the season, then struck again just 6:18 later. Templin assisted on the second goal as Bauer completed the brace and increased the Golden Eagles' advantage to 3-0.
Templin finished the night with a goal, an assist and a defensive save, contributing at both ends of the field as John Brown turned a match controlled statistically by Xavier into a three-goal victory.
Xavier finished with a 17-7 advantage in shots and put seven attempts on goal compared with four for the Golden Eagles. John Brown, however, converted three of its four shots on frame.
Almanza (2-0-0) made six saves over 90 minutes and earned the clean sheet. Xavier's Lenno Schmidt made one save and conceded all three goals in taking the loss.
John Brown wraps up its Labor Day weekend road trip with a stop in Shreveport, La. on the way back home. The Golden Eagles will take on LSU-Shreveport (La.) on Monday afternoon, with kickoff scheduled for a 3 p.m. The match will be streamed live on YouTube.
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