Men's Soccer Results (Oct. 17)
Detroit 2, Western Michigan 1
Valparaiso 2, Northern Illinois 1
Green Bay 0, Wisconsin 3
Loyola 0, No. 24 Northwestern 2
INDIANAPOLIS -- Rain fell around the Midwest on Wednesday as four Horizon League men's soccer teams competed in non-conference play. Detroit and Valparaiso both picked up wins while Green Bay and Loyola took losses.
Detroit 2, Western Michigan 1
Taking a break from their tear through the Horizon League, the Titans went on the road on Wednesday afternoon and picked up a 2-1 win against in-state rival Western Michigan.
Due to poor field conditions at WMU, the match was played at Kalamazoo College.
The Broncos (9-4-2) went ahead early, netting a penalty shot less than two minutes into the game, and kept Detroit (7-6-0) off the board until the 76th minute, when freshman Jason Leslie headed home a cross from junior Adam Bedell, Leslie's first career collegiate goal. The scored remained tied until the 84th minute, when Bedell clanged a shot off the crossbar and fellow junior Patrick Stoltys put the rebound into the net.
Western Michigan had two shots on goal in the closing minutes but sophomore goalkeeper Nathan Steinwascher -- the Horizon League's Co-Defensive Player of the Week -- turned away both attempts to secure the win for Detroit.
The Titans will look to improve upon their 3-0 conference record on Sunday when they host Valparaiso.
Valparaiso 2, Northern Illinois 1
In Wednesday's only intra-state game for a Horizon League team, Valparaiso picked up a 2-0 victory over visiting Northern Illinois as a driving rain fell at Brown Field.
The Crusaders (2-6-5) scored early as junior Charles Barden netted an off-balance left-footer in the ninth minute. Valparaiso doubled its lead less than four minutes later when sophomore Eric Nieto scored from 30 yards.
Fifth-year senior Kyle Zobeck kept Northern Illinois (3-8-2) scoreless until the 62nd minute and turned away seven shots on the night. Earlier in the day, the goalkeeper was named a finalist for the 2012 Senior CLASS Award.
Green Bay 0, Wisconsin 3
In rainy Madison, Wis., the Phoenix fell 3-0 to in-state rival Wisconsin.
The Badgers (5-6-3) scored a lone goal in the first half despite the fact that both schools fired eight shots in the period. Having made three saves and allowed the one goal, senior Green Bay keeper Ryan Wehking gave way to redshirt sophomore Max Nimmo with seven minutes remaining in the opening half.
Wisconsin scored again three minutes into the second half to go up 2-0 before potting an empty-netter in the 73rd minute to secure the 3-0 victory.
Junior midfielder Ahmad Bah led all player with four shots, but Green Bay (2-9-3) was unable to find the net in the loss.
Loyola 0, No. 24 Northwestern 2
Facing a downpour and a top-25 opponent, Loyola put up a valiant effort in a 2-0 loss to No. 24 Northwestern.
Senior goalkeeper Peter McKeown made five saves -- including a diving stop on a fourth-minute penalty kick -- but got little help from the Loyola offense, which managed zero shots on goal.
Northwestern, meanwhile, fired off 16 shots in the game, including seven on goal. The Wildcats (10-2-2) scored one goal in each half to win the inter-city matchup over the Ramblers (2-8-2).
