Men’s Soccer Results (Oct. 24)
Detroit 1, Milwaukee 0
Valparaiso 2, Wright State 1
Cleveland State 3, Loyola 2 (OT)
Three tense games provided a measure of separation in the Horizon League men’s soccer standings, with Detroit, Valparaiso and Cleveland State collecting key victories on Wednesday night.
Detroit 1, Milwaukee 0
A penalty kick in the opening minute of the second half sent Detroit to a key road win over Milwaukee, 1-0, at Engelmann Stadium.
The victory clinched a spot in the Horizon League Tournament for Detroit (8-7-0, 4-1-0 Horizon), coming just a few months after the Titans were pegged to finish last in the conference.
The physical match saw a combined 38 fouls and seven cards, 21 of which were whistled on the Titans, including five yellows. However, it was a red card that helped provide the difference.
The card was assessed to Milwaukee’s (7-5-2, 1-2-2 Horizon) Jamie Bladen, giving the League leader in goals, Adam Bedell, a penalty kick. Bedell’s kick found the back of the net, providing the Titans a 1-0 lead just 53 seconds into the second half.
With the lead, the Titans came under attack from a relentless Panther attack; Milwaukee had 14 shots in the second half, but Nathan Steinwascher stopped all four shots that reached him in the half. On the night, Steinwascher turned in five saves to post his fourth shutout of the night.
Valparaiso 2, Wright State 1
Dominating the run of play, Valparaiso won its third straight match, downing Wright State, 2-1, at Brown Field.
Valparaiso (4-6-5, 2-1-3 Horizon) stayed unbeaten over its last six matches, a 3-0-3 stretch that has seen the team earn eight of its nine points in League play.
The Crusaders got on the board in the 24th minute, as Nick Suker tallied his second goal of the year. Kevin Miller played a cross from the left, where Suker sent the ball to the far post.
With the defense holding down the Wright State (3-11-1, 1-3-1 Horizon) offense, Valpo tacked on a crucial insurance goal in the second half, with Jordan Aidoud converting on a turnover by the Raiders. Aidoud’s shot from 35 yards out put the Crusaders ahead, 2-0, with 19:49 to play.
The second goal would prove vital, as the Raiders were able to push forward to cut their deficit in half in the final minute. Albert Nilsson’s corner found the foot of Emeka Ononye, who tallied his third goal of the year.
However, with just 38 seconds left after the goal, Valparaiso was able to kill the clock.
Cleveland State 3, Loyola 2 (OT)
After falling behind by two goals in the first 12 minutes of the match, Cleveland State rallied to snare a 3-2 overtime win over Loyola at Loyola Soccer Park.
Cleveland State (8-5-2, 3-1-1 Horizon) rallied to tie the match at 2-2 by the end of the first half, using goals by Admir Suljevic and Mike Derezic. Suljevic’s fifth goal of the year came in the 31st minute, off a feed from Zach Ellis-Hayden. Suljevic chipped the ball over Peter McKeown to cut the deficit in half.
Twelve minutes later, Derezic scored the first of his two goals in the match, drilling a shot from five yards out after taking a touch from Cameron Eisses.
After a scoreless second half, the teams headed to overtime; with 29 seconds left in the first session, Derezic potted his second goal of the match, converting a pass from Aslinn Rodas to give the Vikings the comeback win.
Within the first 12 minutes of the contest, it appeared as if Loyola (2-9-2, 1-2-2 Horizon) would run to the key win, as the Ramblers jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Jake Savino recorded the first goal of the match, his fourth of the year, 10:38 into the game. James Howe sent a free kick to Savino on the outside, where his shot beat Brad Stuver.
Just 1:08 later, it was Savino finding Reed Patterson, whose shot low to the back left corner got past Stuver to give the Ramblers the two-goal cushion.
