Green Bay 2, Detroit 0
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Playing at a sunny Santaga Stadium on Saturday, the Green Bay men’s soccer team put one goal on the scoreboard in each half to defeat the Detroit Titans, 2-0, in Horizon League action.
The win improved Green Bay to 7-4-3 overall and 2-1-1 in the conference, while Detroit fell to 3-7-4 overall and 0-4-0 in the Horizon League.
Green Bay set the tempo from the opening kick, recording five shots in the opening 15 minutes while limiting Detroit to just one. Lawrence Talery (Coon Rapids, Minn.) and Sam Krenzien (Wauwatosa, Wis.) both saw shots in the 15th minute sail just wide of the net, and Audi Jepson (Green Bay, Wis.) also forced Detroit’s Nathan Steinwascher into a save situation during the span.
It was Brandon Hall (O’Fallon, Mo) who broke the scoreless tie in the 43rd minute, netting his first career collegiate goal. A Detroit handball outside the box set up a set piece opportunity for the Phoenix, with service into the box coming from Jepson. After bouncing off several bodies, Hall collected the ball and snuck it past Detroit keeper Steinwascher for the game winner.
Green Bay went into halftime with the lead and a 9-3 advantage in shots.
Continuing to apply pressure in the second half, Talery had a shot in the 68th minute that fell out of the hands of Steinwascher before he fell on it to maintain possession. Less than a minute later it was a similar situation for Krenzien as his shot on goal slipped out of the hands of the Detroit keeper, but Steinwascher was again able to collect the ball before any Phoenix capitalized.
Turning to the other end of the field in the 70th minute the Titans looked to capitalize on corner set pieces, but Dary DeWalt (Milwaukee, Wis.) came up with a big save on a header shot from Patrick Soltys and another header off a corner by Soltys sailed high a minute later, keeping Detroit off the scoreboard.
On a bizarre play during the second half, as Steinwascher was bouncing the balls after making a save on goal a Phoenix player tapped the ball before Steinwascher was able to get his hands on it again. Green Bay's AJ Patterson floated a pass to Sam Krenzien for Green Bay's second goal of the match.
After the second goal for the Phoenix, the Titans attempted to pick up the urgency. UDM was able to get multiple corners late in the match and a handful of shots, but the Green Bay keeper made some key saves that prevented Detroit from a chance at a late comeback.
For the match, Green Bay led in shots, 15-13, while the Titans had a 7-5 edge in corner kicks. DeWalt earned his first shutout as a Phoenix, playing the entire match and making four saves.
Green Bay returns to action next Saturday, traveling to Wright State for a match under the lights at 6 p.m.
UDM will travel to Ohio for a conference match against the Vikings of Cleveland State on Wednesday, Oct. 23. at 7:30 p.m. before a six day break between matches.
UIC 3, Wright State 2 (2ot)
CHICAGO – For the second time this season, the UIC men’s soccer team went into double overtime and came out on the winning end, as it took down conference-opponent Wright State, 3-2, at Flames Field Saturday night. Senior Slobodan Aleksov scored his second goal of the game and the game-winner in the 105th minute to maintain the Flames undefeated record of 4-0-0 in the Horizon League.
The win marks the fifth straight for UIC, as its overall record goes to 11-3-0 this season, having won 11 of its last 12 games. The Raiders fall to 3-7-1 overall, with a 1-3-0 mark in the Horizon League.
The Flames were in control of the first half of play, registering four shots while not allowing the Raiders to make a single attempt. The Flames persistence paid off in the 35th minute, when redshirt-senior Josh Beard headed in a pass off a corner kick from senior Bob Novak to score his second goal of the season.
After firing off six shots to start the second half, UIC came away with its second goal after Aleksov shot in a pass from senior Aris Zafeiratos in the 60th minute.
WSU, however, tied the contest with a pair of goals in a three-minute span. Sophomore forward Brett Elder started the comeback at the 83:59 mark with his sixth goal of the season, a shot off of a corner kick by freshman forward Eric Lynch
Junior midfielder Emeka Ononye then tied it just 2:50 later at the 86:49 mark as he, like Elder, converted a corner kick from Lynch. It was the first goal of the year for Ononye and the two assists give Lynch six on the season.
The Flames and Raiders each had a shot on goal in the first overtime, and the second overtime began with a shot by Lynch. Following a yellow card caution to sophomore Kyle Lindberg, junior Jesus Torres brought the ball in and made a pass to Aleksov, who shot the ball in for the game-winner, scoring his second goal of the game and seventh of the season.
While allowing two goals for a 0.77 GAA this season, freshman goalkeeper Andrew Putna made three saves, one in both overtime periods and in the second half, for a season total of 32 and a .744 save percentage. Wright State’s freshman goalkeeper Tyler Blackmer made five saves on the Flames and allowed three goals for a 1.50 GAA this season, while dropping to 2-4-0.
The Flames will take a short break from action and return to Horizon League competition on Oct. 25, when they head to Valparaiso, Ind., to take on the Crusaders at 7 p.m. CT at Brown Field.
Wright State (3-7-1, 1-3 Horizon) hosts Bowling Green on Tuesday, October 22, at 7:00.
