UIC 2, Valparaiso 1
VALPARAISO, Ind. – The UIC men’s soccer team collected a come-from-behind win Friday night at Brown Field to defeat conference-opponent Valparaiso, 2-1, and stay unbeaten in Horizon League play. Senior Aris Zafeiratos scored the game-winning goal and his first of the season in the 80th minute to lift the Flames to their sixth-straight win.
With a 5-0-0 first-place record in the Horizon League, UIC improves to 12-3-0 overall, marking the first time the team has won 12 of its first 15 games since 1999. Valparaiso moves to 3-6-5, 0-3-2 HL, on the season.
Despite strong possession in the first half, the Flames fired off just four shots by senior Slobodan Aleksov (3) and freshman Joel Leon (1), while receiving two offside penalties to prevent further opportunities.
The Crusaders were able to pull ahead in the 42nd minute, however, as Klett was able to chase down a long ball sent in by Adrian Graham (Kingston, Jamaica/St. George’s College) and beat the UIC goalkeeper to put the Crusaders up 1-0. Klett’s goal was the first of his young career.
UIC began the second half with four shots in the first 10 minutes of play, causing Valparaiso’s goalkeeper Tom Serratore to make his first and only save of the game against redshirt-senior Josh Beard. UIC continued to create chances and in the 70th minute, sophomore Kyle Lindberg netted the equalizer for his fourth goal of the season.
With the match tied at 1-1, the Flames continued to plug away and were able to break up the Crusaders’ passes and start their counterattack. After missing wide, Zafeiratos came back in the 80th minute to score his first goal of the season, assisted by junior Jesus Torres and sophomore Jorge Alvarez, for the game-winner.
With ten minutes to play, the Crusaders searched for an equalizer and nearly found it on two separate occasions. A long throw sent in by Jacob Unger (Apex, N.C./Middle Creek) was cleared off the line by the UIC defense in the 86th minute. A great touch from Jesse Ortiz (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora) in the 89th minute looked sure to level the game at 2-2, but his shot would hit the crossbar and the match would end with UIC on top 2-1.
UIC held a 13-8 shot advantage against Valparaiso after making nine attempts in the second half. Putna made four total saves off of Valparaiso’s five shots on goal to improve his save percentage to .750, while allowing one goal for a 0.78 GAA this season.
The Flames continue Horizon League action on the road when they head to Rochester, Mich., to face Oakland at 6 p.m. CT Wednesday.
The Crusaders (3-6-5, 0-3-2 Horizon) are back at home on Wednesday, October 30th for a nonleague match against Western Michigan (6-7-0). Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Live stats for the game will be available at ValpoAthletics.com.
Wright State 2, Green Bay 1 (2ot)
GREEN BAY, Wis.– In a tense, physical Horizon League matchup, the Wright State men’s soccer team netted a game-winning goal in the 107th minute to edge Green Bay, 2-1, on Saturday evening in Dayton.
The win improved Wright State to 4-8-1 overall and 2-3 in the Horizon, while the Phoenix fell to 7-5-3 overall and 2-2-1 in the conference.
With only a combined two shots over the opening 12 minutes for the two teams, Green Bay’s Sam Krenzien (Wauwatosa, Wis.) turned up the offensive pressure with shots in the 19’ and 21’ that forced Wright State keeper Tyler Blackmer into save situations.
The Raiders took a 1-0 lead at the 29:20 mark of the first half as freshman forward Austin Seifert scored his first collegiate goal on an assist by freshman defender Jacob Stovall, his first of the season.
Green Bay found itself in a disadvantage in the closing minutes of the first half. Taurean Greenidge (Bridgetown, Barbados), who had received a yellow card in the 29th minute, received his second booking in the 41st minute resulting in a red card and ejection from the match, forcing the Phoenix to play a man down the remainder of the match.
Even with a man down in the final minutes the Phoenix remained close going into the break, owning a 2-0 advantage in corner kicks while trailing in shots, 8-6.
Green Bay picked up its offensive presence as the minutes ticked away in the second half, just missing an open net opportunity in the 63rd minute as WSU’s Tyler Blackmer was drawn off his line, but Conner Sendobry’s (Grover, Mo.) shot sailed just over the crossbar.
It was a set piece opportunity that brought the score even at 1-1 in the 77th minute. A tap from the corner and a cross in from the duo of Lawrence Talery (Coon Rapids, Minn.) and Audi Jepson (Green Bay, Wis.) found Krenzien in traffic, where he was able to send home the equalizer for his 10th goal of the season.
Starting the overtime sessions, Green Bay keeper Dary DeWalt (Milwaukee, Wis.) came up with two big saves on early attempts by the Raiders to keep the score even. Krenzien put two shots on in the closing minutes but they sailed high as the game moved towards the second overtime.
It was another close call for the Phoenix in the second OT that nearly gave them the win. With a long throw-in in front of the Wright State Bench, Brandon Hall (O’Fallon, Mo.) strong-armed the ball to the middle of the box. Trey Benhart (Lakeville, Minn.) had an open net opportunity, but the WSU defense stepped up to make the team save.
Rockwell-Ashton came up with the game-winner at the 106:55 mark as he headed in a shot off a pass by Greg Marchand. It was the first goal of the season for the redshirt junior midfielder and the first assists for Marchand, a senior defender.
For the match, Green Bay led in corner kicks, 7-2. Wright State owned a narrow 18-17 advantage in shots, but the Phoenix saw several quality opportunities with nine of its 17 shots coming on goal. Krenzien finished with a game-high seven shots, including three on goal. DeWalt played the entirety, making seven saves.
Green Bay returns to action next Saturday in its final regular season match at Santaga Stadium, welcoming Oakland for senior day, recognizing Krenzien and Sabastian Xiong (Cottage Grove, Minn.) in a pregame ceremony.
Wright State (4-8-1, 2-3 Horizon) closes out the home portion of its schedule on Wednesday, October 30, as the Raiders host Cleveland State at 7:00.
Milwaukee 2, Oakland 1
MILWAUKEE - Junior Laurie Bell's league-leading 10th goal of the season proved to be the game-winner as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team recorded a 2-1 victory over Oakland University Saturday night at Engelmann Stadium.
The Panthers (11-2-2, 4-2-0 Horizon League) handed the Grizzlies (5-5-5, 3-1-1 Horizon League) their first loss in conference play this season, moving into second place in the league standings with the victory.
Bell and senior James Ashcroft each found the back of the net for Milwaukee in the first half, giving the home side a 2-0 lead.
Bell became the first Panther to score at least 10 goals in a season since 2004 in the 38th minute, one-timing a cross from freshman Kostas Kotselas at the far post to make it 2-0 at the 37:51 mark.
Ashcroft broke the scoreless deadlock about 10 minutes earlier, beating everyone to a poorly struck back pass to the goalkeeper and finishing on the first touch from about 15 yards out for his second goal of the season.
He followed that up by picking off a pass at midfield on the restart and sending a shot from midfield on frame. Sean Lewis had to go airborne to keep it from going in or Ashcroft would have had two goals in a span of less than 10 seconds on the clock.
Bell's goal came after a hustle play by Kotselas, who ran down a long ball down the left side of the field. His initial service was deflected, but freshman Beau Laufer kept it alive with a touch back to Kotselas, who found Bell for the tally.
Down 2-0, Archibald would cut the deficit to one goal with only four seconds remaining in the first half as he took a volleyed serve from Matt Dudley and Joey Tinnion to the middle of the field from ten yards away and put it in the left side of the net.
The Golden Grizzlies looked for the equalizing goal with an opportunity in the 56th minute as Archibald took a shot that was blocked but went to the foot of Dudley who had a chance on the right side but was saved. Shawn Claud Lawson would make a run and attempt to put in a header in the 73rd minute but it went wide.
For the game, Milwaukee recorded an 18-to-15 advantage in shots, 7-to-4 in shots on goal and had all three of the corner kicks.
Up next, the Panthers play their final non-conference game of the season, heading to DeKalb, Ill., to take on Northern Illinois in the yearly battle for the LeWang Trophy. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Oakland will be back on the pitch on Wednesday as they return home after a four-match road trip to host first-place UIC in a Horizon League match starting at 7 p.m. at the OU Soccer Field.
Ohio State 1, Cleveland State 0
COLUMBUS, Ohio- The Cleveland State men's soccer team fell to Ohio State, 1-0, in a tight match on Sunday afternoon.
The Vikings (6-10-0) played a tough match against the Buckeyes, but could not pull out the victory. CSU played a solid defensive game, despite the one goal given up in the contest. Freshman midfielder Sergio Manesio attempted four shots in the game, with two of the four on goal.
The lone goal by OSU came in the second half at the 69:53 minute-mark. Ohio State freshman forward Danny Jenson knocked in a header goal from the front of the net off of a cross pass from Christian Soldat and Ryan Ivancic.
The Vikings will return to conference play on Wednesday night (Oct. 30), as CSU will travel to Wright State for a pivotal match. Kickoff will begin at 7:00 p.m.
