Westminster soccer: Great Falls men's soccer defeats Griffins, 4-1

SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College men's soccer team dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 21 Great Falls Monday afternoon at Dumke Field.

Westminster dropped its first game of the season, falling to 3-1 on the year. The team now drops to 0-1 in Frontier Conference action, while Great Falls improves to 4-0-1 and 1-0 in the league.

Great Falls got off to a fast start, striking twice in the first 10 minutes. The first came in the eighth minute when Christian Johansen headed in a free kick from Anderson Cardoso. The lead would reach 2-0 as Johansen then took a cross from Mauel Espinoza and put it in the net from six yards out.

The game would remain 2-0 until the 74th minute when Renan Zampieri put a shot inside the far post on a pass from Andrew Gillan. The Griffins would get on the board in the 75th minute on a penalty kick from Ryan Smith. It was the team-leading third goal of the season for Smith. Danny Delgadillo would score on a breakaway in the 79th minute to set the final at 4-1.

Westminster finished with a 16-8 advantage in total shots but managed just three shots on goal to the six taken by UGF. The Griffins also held a 9-1 edge in corner kicks. Smith and Jace Maxfield fired three shots apiece to lead the team, while three others had two shots apiece.

Damir Sabanovic suffered the loss in goal despite making two saves. It was his first loss of the year after posting back-to-back shutouts.

Westminster will return to action on Sept. 8 when it faces Benedictine (Kan.) at 7:30 p.m. in Atchison, Kan.