BLUEFIELD, Va. – Despite University of the Cumberlands finding the back of the net first, Bluefield rallied back quickly and closed Saturday's non-conference matchup with a 5-2 win over the visiting Patriots at the East River Soccer Complex. The win was the first for Bluefield against the former Mid-South Conference opponent in the programs' fourth overall meeting.
 
Bluefield moves to 10-4 on the season while the Patriots fall to 4-9.
 
Jack Cousin converted a free kick in the 7^th minute to earn the visitors a 1-0 lead.
 
In the 16^th minute, Benjy Slator finished on a great cross from Eli Hairfield by sending a deflecting header past keeper Caio Presa.
 
Niolai Solomon found the back of the net next, sending a bounding ball sharply past Presa to get BC the 2-1 lead.
 
Slator tallied his second of the night to get the Rams a 3-1 advantage which they would take into the half.
 
Bluefield posted the first two shots of the second half, but Cumberlands began to find more opportunities as well. Eduardo Maia then converted a free kick in the 66^th minute to pull UC within one, 3-2.
 
Bluefield's response came 10 minutes later. An initial attack for the Rams broke apart, but Cole Haberman collected the ball on the right side close to the sideline. The freshman served a pass to the middle, where Slator took the ball out of mid-air on its approach and nailed it home for the 4-2 lead.
 
The final tally came with a little over a minute remaining as shots from both Slator and Jacob Mader were saved by Presa, but Shawn Williams cleaned up the second rebound and tallied his first career goal as a Ram.
 
Bluefield finished the contest with an overwhelming 20-7 advantage in shots, while the tally was 11-4 in shots on goal for BC.
 
Jefferson Watson made a pair of saves in net to get the win, while Presa had six saves in defeat.
 
Bluefield returns to action Oct. 24, traveling to face Columbia International University. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.