The Baker men’s soccer team had high expectations for the final two games of the Baker Invitational after defeating Missouri Baptist University 4-0 Sept. 10 in the first weekend of the tournament.

In the second weekend of the tournament, the Wildcats took on the Trojans from Hannibal-LaGrange College Friday at Liston Stadium and tied 1-1.

After conceding the first goal on a corner kick, sophomore Ethan Bauer netted the equalizer in the 49th minute of play.

“(Sophomore) Nick Aguilar played me a ball that I received on the 18 (yard line),” Bauer said. “It popped up and I just took it off the volley and the keeper kind of pushed it into the goal.”

After several aggressive chances in overtime, Bauer’s would remain the lone goal of the match.

Baker faced a tough, final-round opponent Saturday in No. 15-ranked Westminster College.

The Griffins came into the game with a six-game winning streak. However, the unranked Wildcats refused to be daunted by the task ahead of them.

Westminster came out strong in the first half, netting a goal in the 21st minute. Senior Clay Stanger evened the score just before halftime on a pass from junior Nick Ebmeyer.

“We had a good idea of what they were going to do,” head coach Nate Houser said. “I thought after their goal … we were able to settle in.”

In the second half, Bauer made a big play once again, intercepting a pass and crossing it to forward Odaine Sinclair for the game-winning goal.

Houser was pleased with the team’s performance Saturday, and plans to take a few lessons out of the invitational and into conference play.

“We learned that all things are possible if we control what we do,” Houser said.

The Baker men kick off their first conference game of the season against Central Methodist University at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Liston Stadium. The team is 4-2-1 on the season.

Last year, as Baker was coming off a huge 3-0 victory against Grandview College in Des Moines, Iowa, the Central Methodist Eagles pulled an upset of sorts, ending the match in a tie.

Not breathing easy after the high-profile win against Westminster, Houser is far from overlooking the conference opener.

“There are no easy games in our conference,” Houser said. “We are going to have to be at our best to get a result.”