ROCKFORD, Ill. - The RU men's soccer team played its second home match in three days on Friday when the Regents welcomed the Buena Vista University Beavers to Sam Greeley Field. 

Rockford got off to a very slow start in the first half as the Regents could only muster 4 shots compared to 12 for Buena Vista. The Beavers were able to capitalize on their 3-to-1 shot advantage by scoring a pair of goals and take a 2-0 lead into the intermission.

The second half went much better for the Regents as the offense began to put pressure on the Beaver defense. Rockford took 7 second half shots and played the majority of the half on the Buena Vista side of the field. Sophomore Erik Manriquez (Rockford, Ill.) pulled Rockford back within one goal when he connected on a shot into the top left corner of the net in the 47th minute making it a 2-1 game. The Regents had multiple other good scoring opportunities throughout the remainder of the match but were unable to connect and ultimately lost a tough 2-1 match.

Erik Manriquez has now scored in three of Rockford's five matches this season. The sophomore is currently tied for fourth in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference with three goals and tied for seventh with ten shots.

Freshman goalkeeper Anthony Beck (Fishers, Ind.) played very well again on Friday. Beck made nine saves in the match including stopping a Beaver penalty kick. His 30 saves leads the NACC and he now has 13 more saves than anyone else in the conference.

The men's soccer team returns to the field on Saturday, September 12 at home against Eureka College. The match has a 1:00 p.m. start time and will be played on the Smith Athletic Field on the campus of Rockford University.