Results from Saturday
Milwaukee 5, Detroit 3
Wright State 2, Valparaiso 0
Oakland 2, Cleveland State 1
UIC 1, SIU Edwardsville 0
Milwaukee 5, Detroit 3
DETROIT, Mich. - Sophomore Aaron Horvat tied the Horizon League and school record by scoring four goals in a game to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's soccer team to a 5-3 victory over the University of Detroit Saturday afternoon at Titan Field.
Horvat was the star of the show, becoming the first UWM player to net a hat trick in eight seasons and then topping that by adding his fourth goal of the contest to equal the league and school record. The last UWM player to score four goals was Neil Dombrowski against Loyola in October 2005. The league record of four is held by 12 players, most recently tied in 2006, giving Horvat the highest goal output by a league player in over seven years.
"Aaron had a fantastic performance today," Milwaukee head coach Kris Kelderman said. "Not only did he score four times, but they were all really nice goals. The build-up on all of his goals was very nice combination play, but he finished with beautiful goals."
The Panthers (7-0-1, 1-0-0 Horizon League) scored first but actually trailed the Titans (0-4-4, 0-1-0 Horizon League) early in the second half before responding with three unanswered goals in a span of 5:55. When Milwaukee fell behind, 2-1, it marked the first time that it trailed in a game in 2013.
"What I was most proud of was when we went down, 2-1, and how we responded," Kelderman said. "We scored three goals in a matter of six or seven minutes and picked up our intensity. I was just really pleased with how we responded."
The victory made it eight-straight unbeaten for the Panthers at 7-0-1, the longest undefeated streak since 1985 to start a season. That 1985 squad started 12-0, the only streak longer in program history.
"We talked about it as a group before the game today," Kelderman said. "We are pretty excited with our non-conference record up to this point, and that's great and is a sign that we are doing well and getting better each week. But, it was preparation for conference play. Our number one goal is to play well in league games and, ultimately, that is the ticket to getting to the NCAA Tournament. We went into the Detroit game knowing that they were thinking the same thing and that each team came in to the game with a 0-0 record."
The eight combined goals was also a surprise to most, as both teams had recorded a strong defensive effort so far in 2013. Milwaukee had allowed just three goals in seven games coming in to play today, while Detroit had allowed seven in seven games and never more than two. The five goals by UWM are the most for the team since defeating Green Bay, 5-1, on October 13, 2004.
Horvat got things going early on the day, netting his first at the 12:27 mark to give UWM the initial goal of the match for the eighth game in a row this season.
But, Detroit would respond pretty quickly, finding the back of the net in the 17th minute to equalize at 1-1, snapping freshman goalkeeper Liam Anderson's scoreless streak at 297:31 in the process. It stayed that way until halftime, despite Milwaukee having the better of the run of play and the majority of possession.
"They are a team that is very direct and play from a lot of restarts and throw-ins," Kelderman said. "And when the ball is in your box, it's a lot of action in front of your goal. We knew that was going to be a big part of their attack and there were times when we defended it well and times when we did not. The first goal was an error on one of our defenders, but that happens, that is college soccer. We accepted that it was a mistake and we had to make up for it."
After a relatively quiet first half for both teams on the offensive side of the ball, the fireworks came fast and furious just after intermission. Detroit struck first, taking a 2-1 lead on Adam Bedell's goal at the 47:23 mark.
No worries. Horvat responded just 32 seconds later, leveling the game at 2-2 on assists from senior Robbie Boyd and junior Rami Younes.
Junior Laurie Bell got into the scoring column next, with Boyd again assisting. He hit the net for his fifth goal of the season on a header at the 50:22 mark to make it 3-2.
Less than four minutes later, Horvat struck for the hat trick in the 54th minute to increase the lead to two and give UWM an insurance tally. They would need it pretty quickly. Detroit would trim the deficit to one goal in the 63rd minute when it made it 4-3 off a corner kick.
Bell looked to add his second of the day in the 66th minute. After some fine ballwork by Younes, sophomore Declan Rodriguez one-touched a thru ball to Bell who was streaking in on goal. Only an impressive save kept the score at 4-3 at the time.
Horvat took care of the insurance score later, netting his fourth of the game at the 72:31 mark to round out the scoring in the match.
On the day, UWM held a 19-to-11 advantage in shots - including 12-8 in shots on goal - and had four of the 11 corner kicks in the game. Both teams were whistled for 10 fouls.
It's back on the road after a short rest for the Panthers, heading to Nebraska to take on Omaha in a 4 p.m. contest Wednesday.
Recap
Boxscore
Wright State 2, Valparaiso 0
In their second Horizon League game of the season, the Crusaders traveled to Wright State to take on the Raiders. Playing in front of a crowd of 1,081, the Raiders provided early excitement as sophomore forward Brett Elder scored his fourth goal of the season just 2:40 into the contest. Elder received a pass from junior midfielder Chris Dupont and knocked in the shot from the right side of the goal.
Valpo would go on to control much of the second half, creating multiple chances. The Crusaders were unable to provide the final touch necessary to find goal however, as the Raiders were able to hand the Crusaders their first league loss of the season. Two goals in the first half would be the difference, as the Raiders defeated the Crusaders 2-0.
“Congratulations to Wright State on a well-earned win tonight,” said head coach Mike Avery. “They brought great energy into the game and by the time we were able to match them, we were already playing from behind. The Horizon League is a competitive league, and these games have a different feel. We have a lot of new players, and I think as a group we are still learning that there is very little room for error. The good news is that we were terrific in the second half, but it was too little too late.”
The rest of the half would see fairly even play, as the Crusaders were able to create several chances of their own. The best chance in the first half for Valpo came from a corner won by Yannick Iwunze (Paris, France/Hightower [Tex.] H.S.). The Crusaders were unable to convert however, as a header from Todd Vervynckt (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) was wide of goal.
WSU added another goal late in the first half as junior midfielder Michael Hayes tallied his first goal of the season at the 36:37 mark. Elder and freshman forward Eric Lynch were credited with assists, Elder's first and Lynch's second of the year.
Recap
Boxscore
Oakland 2, Cleveland State 1
CLEVELAND - Raphael Reynolds scored his first goal of the season in the 86th minute for the game winner as the Oakland men's soccer team (3-2-4, 1-0-1) earned its first Horizon League victory of the season over the defending league champion and preseason favorite Cleveland State (3-6-0, 0-1-0) Saturday night at Krentzer Field. This marks the first Horizon League victory for Oakland in school history.
"Fantastic team win tonight as we were brilliant all over the pitch tonight in all aspects of the game," said head coach Eric Pogue. "Cleveland State is a very good team that play some good soccer, so to be able to pick up our first Horizon League win away from home against defending Horizon League tournament champions is a great achievement for our men. We have been making positive strides as a team to be a more complete side with each passing week, so it is rewarding to see their hard work be rewarded tonight."
Reynolds scored after the Vikings' Nick Ciraldo made a spectacular save off a shot by Joey Tinnion, but the Golden Grizzlies kept possession as Shawn Claud Lawson found Reynolds inside the box who scored to the far post to give OU the victory.
Oakland would get on the board first as Matt Dudley would get a pass from Tinnion at the top of the box and sent it to the back of the net in the 25th minute. Cleveland State's Mike Matlock would earn a red card in the 62nd minute, but with a man down the Vikings were able to score an equalizing goal in the 75th minute as Nick Neumann gathered a rebound off a corner kick and sent it past Sean Lewis. The goal snapped a streak of 402:42 for the Oakland defense without allowing a goal dating back to Sept. 13.
Lewis finished the match with one save and allowed one goal and Cleveland State's Ciraldo earned five saves allowing two goals. OU outshot CSU 12-9 in the match.
The Golden Grizzlies return home on Saturday Oct. 5 as they host Detroit in a Horizon League match starting at 7 p.m. at the OU Soccer Field.
Recap
Boxscore
UIC 1, SIU Edwardsville 0
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The UIC men's soccer team held off SIU-Edwardsville Saturday night at Korte Stadium to collect its sixth-straight win and fifth-consecutive shutout. Senior Bob Novak lifted the Flames to a 1-0 win with his first goal of the season.
The win improves UIC's season record to 6-2-0 and marks its third straight against the Cougars, while SIU-E drops to 4-5-0 after losing its last three matches.
The Flames did not wait to take the lead against the Cougars, as Novak took a pass from sophomore Jorge Alvarez, his fourth assist of the season, and put the ball past senior goalkeeper John Berner in the fourth minute. UIC went on in the first half to take two additional shots by senior Slobodan Aleksov and Alvarez, while freshman goalkeeper Andrew Putna made two saves off of SIU-E's six attempts.
UIC continued into the second half and was not allowed a shot by SIU-E, while the Cougars took six shots to take the match's shot advantage 12-3. Putna made three additional saves, five total in the match, while earning his fifth-straight shutout and improving his season GAA to 0.75.
The Flames are back in action Tuesday evening when they host Michigan State at 7 p.m. CT at Flames Field.
Recap
Boxscore
