Men's Soccer Squads Go Unbeaten On Opening Night
Friday's Scoreboard
Western Michigan 2, Loyola 0
Northern Illinois 1, Cincinnati 0 (OT)
West Virginia 2, Charleston 0
SIUE 2, Memphis 2 (2 OT)
Akron 2, Butler 2 (2 OT)
Stories Courtesy of MAC Sports Information Departments
Western Michigan 2, Loyola 0
Boxscore
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The No. 8/14-ranked Western Michigan men's soccer team defeated the University of Loyola Chicago 2-0 Friday evening during the 2018 season opener at WMU Soccer Complex.
The Broncos outshot the Ramblers 10-5, owned a 7-3 corner kick advantage, and allowed just one shot on goal. Kosti Moni and Cameron Sipple notched the first Bronco goals of the season, while goalkeeper Elijah Michaels picked up his second career shutout.
"I thought our effort was outstanding," said Head Coach Chad Wiseman, who tallied his fourth consecutive season-opening win. "Our ability to compete for 90 minutes was great for the first game."
The two teams were scoreless after the first half, while WMU held a 5-0 advantage in corners and did not allow a Rambler shot on goal. Quality chances in the first 45' included a Giuseppe Vitale shot off the post and a nice shot attempt from just outside the box from Donovan Michael.
The Broncos didn't waste anytime after the break, as Moni delivered the first Western Michigan goal of the season on a penalty kick just under five minutes into the second frame. A Loyola foul inside of the box during a Tommy Clark corner kick gave the Broncos the chance.
The Ramblers' Tucker Stephenson received his second yellow card at the 67th minute, forcing the visitors to go down a man, in which WMU would take advantage of soon after. A great shot by Sipple from the right corner of the 18-yard box gave the Brown & Gold the two-goal cushion. Mike Melaragni and Vitale were credited with assists, Melaragni's first collegiate point.
Loyola's greatest chance of the game came at the 63rd minute, where a nice header off a corner was saved nicely by Michaels. Following the Rambler red card, the Broncos limited them to just one shot to close out the match.
"In the run of play we were excellent defensively," Wiseman commented. "I don't think Loyola generated any good chances. We were a little careless on some defensive fouls and have to be better there. Our attack has lots of room to get better, but we generated four or five great scoring chances, won some set pieces in dangerous areas and found a couple goals. Every team in the country wants to start the season 1-0. We did what was needed to for the win."
Western Michigan, 1-0-0, returns to action on Monday, Aug. 27 for its first road matchup of the season, traveling to DePaul University for a 4:00 p.m. (EST) kickoff.
Northern Illinois 1, Cincinnati 0
Boxscore
CINCINNATI, Ohio – Freshman Nick Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) scored the overtime, game-winning goal in the 95th minute as the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team opened the season with a 1-0 victory at Cincinnati on Friday evening.
"The opening game is always tough, especially when you go on the road," said NIU head coach Ryan Swan. "It was a tough game against a good Cincinnati team. There were spells of the game where we really executed our plan well, where we possessed the ball well and created some chances.
"I thought Konrad (Dziedzic) had a couple of good saves but we were always in pretty good control of the game and I was confident going into overtime that we still had something left. Obviously delighted to get the win and find the lift to get it."
In the 26th minute, senior Kevin Rodriguez (Pasadena, Texas/Deer Park) picked up the ball near the edge of the 18-yard box but his shot was sliced wide of the far post in the first real chance for either team.
Cincinnati goalkeeper Noah Lawrence was the first of the two goalkeepers tested as he was called into action in the 29th minute on a shot from distance by senior Max Voss (Herten, Germany/Staedtisches Gymnasium Herten), Lawrence went down comfortably to his right to make the save.
In the 34th minute, the Bearcats had their first chance on goal as Austin Smythe fired a shot from a tight angle that NIU junior goalkeeper Konrad Dziedzic (Schiller Park, Ill./West Virginia) pushed away for a corner kick. Ten minutes later, Cincinnati had another look at goal as a ball was knocked down into the feet of Moritz Schaller who skied a shot high over the crossbar from the top of the 18 as the match went into the intermission scoreless.
After the interval, it was NIU that was on the front-foot early in the second half, creating a trio of chances in the opening 10 minutes of the half. Freshman Louis Sala (West Bloomfield, Ill./Orchard Lake St. Mary's) had the first look in the 48th minute, sending a shot high. Markanich sent a shot wide in the 49th minute and Rodriguez had a low shot gathered by the Cincinnati goalkeeper in the 52nd minute.
Cincinnati's first good chance of the second 45 minutes came in the 62nd as Paul Bangura fired a low shot across the face of goal, but Dziedzic was able to get down to his right to collect the shot and not give up a rebound.
The best save of the night came from Dziedzic in the 69th minute. Cincinnati's initial cross was half-cleared toward the top of the box where it was picked up by Schaller whose shot forced a save at full-stretch from Dziedzic to keep the game level.
The Huskie goalkeeper came up with another excellent save in the 80th minute as he denied Bangura. Cincinnati sent the ball into the box and it was flicked on to Bangura whose header looked destined for the top corner but a diving Dziedzic was able to get a hand to keep the match scoreless.
Both teams pressed for winner in the late stages of regulation as Rodriguez forced a save from Lawrence with a shot from distance in the 85th minute and, less than a minute later, Ryan Melink hit the post to the right of Dziedzic for Cincinnati.
In the dying seconds of the second half, Voss let loose a dipping shot that just went over the crossbar as the Huskies and Bearcats went into overtime.
In the fifth minute of the first extra session, Markanich won it with his first career goal. Rodriguez used an excellent piece of skill to get away from his defender down the left side and sent a cross in toward Markanich and the NIU freshman buried it with his first touch to send the Huskies in euphoria.
Dziedzic made five saves in the contest and combined for a shutout with a starting backline of sophomores Aidan Dunne (Chesterfield, Mo./Tulsa) and Sheriden Smith (Webster Groves, Mo./Webster Groves) along with freshmen Pierce Ugarte (Oak Lawn, Ill./Oak Lawn) and Anthony Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais that had played a combined 12 collegiate games coming into Friday's contest.
"They were very good, very well organized," said Swan of his backline. "I think they were composed when we were in possession and when the game became a little more direct we dealt with it very well. Very happy to get the shutout."
This marked the second consecutive season that the Huskies won their season opener in overtime. Last year, NIU defeated DePaul, 3-2, at home in the season opener (Aug. 25, 2017).
The Huskies will continue their four-game road trip to begin the 2018 season on Monday, Aug. 27, when they travel to Green Bay. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., and will be available on ESPN+.
West Virginia 2, Charleston 0
Boxscore
CHARLESTON, S.C. – A pair of goals in the second half led the West Virginia University men's soccer team to a 2-0 victory in its season opener at the College of Charleston on Friday night.
In front of a lively crowd of 1,781 at the Soccer Stadium at Patriots Point, the Mountaineers (1-0) won their season-opening game for the sixth time in the last eight seasons. WVU benefited from goals by senior midfielder Joey Piatczyc in the 51st minute and junior midfielder Ethan Shim in the 72nd to down the Cougars (0-1).
Shim's goal was the first of his career, while Piatczyc also earned an assist on the goal. The assist gives him 26 in his career, the second-most in program history and one shy of tying the program record of 27, set by Dan Stratford from 2004-07.
"It was a good performance for our guys against a very good Charleston team in front of a massive crowd," WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. "We showed up tonight, and that was the difference. Eleven guys played hard, and for us to find two goals on the road and get a shutout in front of that big of a crowd and that good of a team was a positive.
Piatczyc opened the scoring at 50:17 with his fifth career goal. He gave the Mountaineers a 1-0 lead on a free kick from 22 yards out that hit the top left post and bounced in.
The Mountaineers made it 2-0 at 71:23, thanks to Shim's header on a ball in by Piatczyc. The senior captain crossed the ball in from the right side just inside the box, and found Shim inside the six.
"Joey Piatczyc is a big-time player," LeBlanc added. "A goal and an assist in his first game in over a year shows what we were missing last year, but it shows you how good the kid is and what we have in our time this year. At the end of the day, he's our engine, he's our captain, and I think he proved that tonight."
Additionally, sophomore goalkeeper Steven Tekesky made two saves in the win.
West Virginia out-shot the College of Charleston, 9-7, and had a 3-2 edge in shots on goal and a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Shim recorded WVU's first shot, a header in the sixth minute that was saved. Less than a minute later, a CofC shot was blocked by the Mountaineer defense.
The Mountaineers had a chance in the 17th minute off a corner kick, but the long ball in from the far side outside the box was grabbed by the Charleston keeper. In the 21st minute, junior defender Pascal Derwaritsch had a header go high off of a Piatczyc corner kick.
Two minutes later, Tekesky made his first save of the day on a long ball in to the near post.
West Virginia had an opportunity in the 29th minute on a ball that was loose inside the box, but the Cougar goalkeeper dove to save the ball just before it crossed the line.
With five minutes remaining in the half, a great tackle by a WVU defender at the edge of the box poked the ball out and prevented a chance on net for Charleston. That ensured a scoreless contest heading into halftime.
Both teams had three shots in the first 45 minutes and one shot on goal.
Piatczyc's goal opened the second half, as he found the back of the net at 50:17. The Mountaineers continued to apply pressure following his score, and junior defender Albert Andres-Llop sent a shot high in the 55th minute.
Five minutes later, Andres-Llop had another chance, which was blocked, and junior Andres Muriel Albino followed with a shot high. Prior to Shim's goal in the 72nd minute, he had a shot go wide in the 70th.
The Cougars had a shot blocked in the 74th minute, and Tekesky made a nice save in the 76th. That proved to be CofC's last shot of the contest, as the WVU defense prevented the home side from an opportunity to find the net.
The Mountaineers wrap up their weekend in Charleston with a neutral-site matchup against UNC Wilmington on Sunday, Aug. 26, at 2 p.m. ET.
SIUE 2, Memphis 2 (2 OT)
Boxscore
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – SIUE men's soccer opened the 2018 regular season Friday with a 2-2 double overtime draw on the road at Memphis.
The Cougars and Tigers each are 0-0-1. SIUE had lost three straight games on the road to Memphis.
Trailing 2-1, the Tigers scored in the 86th minute to even the score and force overtime.
"The biggest thing I'll take away from this game is the character of the guys," SIUE Head Coach Mario Sanchez said. "They give up a late tying goal and they continued to stick with it when they could have given up."
Each team managed just a single shot in overtime.
"Neither team got a whole lot (in overtime), but we settled the game pretty well," Sanchez added.
Memphis outshot SIUE 17-14 for the game, but the Cougars held a 9-7 advantage in the second half.
Jorge Gonzalez and Lachlan McLean, SIUE's top two goal scorers in 2017, both picked up their first tallies of the season.
Gonzalez opened the scoring in the 18th minute. McLean picked up the assist after a steal and a pass to Gonzalez to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead at half.
After the Tigers evened the score in the 59th minute but McLean answered with a goal of his own in the 61st minute to put the Cougars back on top 2-1.
"Those two guys are crucial for us," Sanchez added. "Lachlan is a proven goal-scorer and Jorge proved it as well last year. It is good to see them get off the mark. They can play off one another really well."
Much like two preseason games, SIUE used 19 players over the course of the game.
"Tulsa was different from Cincinnati and Cincinnati was different from tonight," Sanchez said. "But we showed the depth of this team."
Noah Heim played all 110 minutes in goal for the Cougars, making eight saves in his first full game since last November with Marquette. After transferring to SIUE, Heim missed the spring season with injury. He played the majority of minutes in the Cougars' two preseason games, but did not play a full 90 minutes in either game.
"Noah is going to get even better as he settles in and gets comfortable," Sanchez said.
SIUE will return home for a Tuesday night contest against UMKC.
"Obviously we can play better, but the reality of college soccer is you have two weeks for preseason and you play a game," Sanchez added. "We'll get our energy back, get healthy, rested and ready for Tuesday night."
Kickoff with the Kangaroos is slated for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Korte Stadium.
Akron 2, Butler 2 (2 OT)
Boxscore
AKRON, Ohio –The second-ranked University of Akron men's soccer battled ninth-rated Butler (0-0-1) to a 2-2 double-overtime draw in the season opener for both schools on Friday, Aug. 24, at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field.
The Zips (0-0-1) were directed by the first career multi-goal effort from sophomore David Egbo (Enugu, Nigeria), who registered goals in the 24th (23:16) and 44th (43:58) minutes, respectively.
The draw snapped Akron's 17-match home winning streak dating back to the 2016 campaign, while extending the Zips' home unbeaten streak to 18.
The Bulldogs connected on the game's first goal when Louis Bulger delivered a perfect strike on a free kick after Akron was whistled for a foul just outside of the 18-yard box at the 11:47 mark.
The Zips nearly netted the equalizer in the 13th minute (12:52) as only a diving lunge from Butler defender Kieran Geldenhuys for a team save prevented the header from Egbo from finding the back of the net.
The momentum continued in Akron's favor as senior Joe Korb (Willowick, Ohio) slotted a ball in from the corner outside the 18-yard box to Egbo, who tapped the laser into the goal for his first tally of the season at the 23:16 mark.
The Bulldogs were whistled for a foul in the box in the 41st minute (40:49) setting the stage for a penalty kick by senior Ezana Kahsay (Asmeras, Eritrea). The scoring opportunity was thwarted by a diving save from Butler goalkeeper Gabriel Gjergji.
The Bulldogs were again booked for a foul in the box at the 43:58 mark. Egbo stepped to the line and gave the Zips a 2-1 lead with a successful penalty kick. The goal resulted in the first career multi-goal effort for Egbo, who recorded one goal as a freshman in 2017.
Akron outshot the Bulldogs in the opening stanza, 5-4, including 4-1 on net, to maintain a 2-1 lead at halftime.
Brandon Guhl squared the contest at two in the 60th minute (59:40) tapping in a ball played in from the corner of the six-yard box by Alex Lehtinen.
Freshman Ivan Nikolic (Toronto, Ontario) made his collegiate debut for the Zips in the 65th minute and came within inches of collecting his first career goal at the 65:57 mark as the initial shot in his Akron career pinged off the crossbar.
Both squads had opportunities to go ahead in the final minutes of the second half, despite the Zips bettering Butler in shots, 10-5.
In overtime, Akron posted a 4-1 margin in shots, but were not able to find the golden goal. On the evening, the Zips outshot the Bulldogs, 19-10, including 5-4 on frame.
Egbo finished the evening with a game-high five shots, including three on goal, while senior Marco Micaletto (Reading, England) and Kahsay added three and two shots, respectively. The Bulldogs were paced by two shots apiece from Bulger, Guhl, Jack Haywood and Marco Charalambous.
Akron senior goalkeeper Ben Lundt (Berlin, Germany) made two saves for the Zips, while Gjergji made two stops for the Bulldogs.
Akron returns to action on Monday, Aug. 27, as the Zips welcome No. 23 North Carolina State into FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field for a 7 p.m. tilt. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+.
