The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

IN their quest to gain entry into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Sun Belt Conference, the University of the Bahamas Mingoes took their first trip to Florida to play against some of the teams they possibly face if accepted by 2018.

The Mingoes, coached by Dion Godet, lost their opener 3-0 to the Florida College Falcons on Thursday in Tampa, but bounced back on Saturday to take revenge out on the Johnson University Suns in a 7-0 shutout in Orlando.

"Florida College was a very challenging match and to be honest, a much better squad than UB," said Godet, who is assisted by Harvey Mullings, one of the country's former outstanding goalkeepers.

"They played at an advance level that demanded that UB pour our heart and soul given that our top goal scorer Stuart Hanna was unable to travel due to a student leaders' conference in Washington DC."

Godet said they learned a valuable lesson from the first match that drained their tanks, but it also built their belief system that they could play with the big boys.

After falling behind 1-0 on a penalty on a questionable hand by Josh Duncombe, team captain Julio Jemison had a chance to equalise the score when he broke through the Falcons' defence, but he failed to connect on the shot.

The Falcons, using an array of passing and fresh subs, opened the second half and went on to post a few brilliant passes that resulted in two more goals to push the game out of reach.

Despite the loss, Godet said the Mingoes' goalkeeper Michael Butler, centre back Justin Smith and holding mid Marlon Miller gave the Falcons a run for their money.

Against the Suns, the Mingoes had a chance to strike out, but there was a miscommunication between Jemison and Smith. But that was quickly wiped away as Devonte Dean of Grand Bahama got the ball across the mouth of the goalpost before freshman Barry Smith guided it into the back of the net.

Dean then got a shot to Butler for the second goal and the scoring continued.

"UB was clearly the better squad as we limited much of the play by the Suns to half of the field," Godet said. "Suns' goalkeeper made save after save until Freeport native Denzel Deveaux got behind the defence for a 3-0 lead.

"Freshman Mario Louis got into the books after beating the keeper on a one-on-one play, which was shortly followed by Denzel's well struck shot later in the half that followed and eager James Darville made sure our total climbed to 5-0."

In the second half, Jemison got a goal kick that found Tristin Arnold waiting as he ran past the Suns' defender and skillfully chipped it past the approaching Suns' goalkeeper.

Over the last ten minutes, Dean's hard work allowed him to be rewarded as he dribbled and outpaced most of the Suns' defenders to boot in the final goal.

"We were pleased with the effort and results as we progress towards full NAIA Sun Conference status," Godet said. "We note that our team will only go from strength to strength as we become more exposed.

The Mingoes will be back in action for their second road tour from October 16-21 in Miami. They are scheduled to play Broward College, ranked in the top 10 nationally, and Florida National University.

"This second leg promises to be an uphill climb for the developing Mingoes," Godet said. "But it's a road that must be traveled in order to achieve success."