Tuesday's Scoreboard
Bowling Green 1, IUPUI 0
Northern Illinois 5, Eastern Illinois 1
North Carolina 3, West Virginia 1
Butler 1, Akron 0
Story Courtesy of MAC Sports Information
Bowling Green 1, IUPUI 0
Box Score
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind -- Sophomore Kale Nichols scored late in the first half to lift the Bowling Green State University men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over IUPUI Tuesday night (Oct. 8). The non-conference match was held at Carroll Stadium.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 7-3-1 on the season, and BGSU has won three-straight matches for the second time in 2019.
The IUPUI match marked the second consecutive Tuesday that the Falcons have gone on the road and returned with a 1-0 victory. BGSU downed Detroit Mercy last week before topping the Jags.
The winning play began with a throw-in by senior Chris Brennan near the IUPUI bench. Brennan's throw went toward the end line on the right side of the 18-yard box. Junior Chris Sullivan's nifty backheel sent the ball across the six-yard line, and classmate Achille Robin lunged for a header that kept it going along that same path.
The ball bounced across the goalmouth to the onrushing Nichols, who blasted it into the net for what proved to be the game-winning goal.
The Falcons dominated all of the pertinent statistical categories, including total shot attempts (15-5), shots on goal (8-2) and corner kicks (9-3). Senior Anthony Mwembia made a pair of saves en route to his sixth shutout of the season. Quinn McCallion made seven stops for the hosts.
Northern Illinois 5, Eastern Illinois 1
Box Score
DEKALB, Ill. – Two goals in the opening 91 seconds of the contest helped lead the Northern Illinois University men's soccer team to a 5-1 victory over Eastern Illinois on Tuesday night (Oct. 8) at the NIU Soccer Complex. Sophomore Miguel Maynez Jr. (El Paso, Texas/New Mexico) scored a pair of goals while junior Alex Welch (Carmarthen, Wales/King's College Madrid) added a goal and an assist as the Huskies scored three in the opening quarter-hour to race past the Panthers.
NIU's five goals is the most scored by a Huskie team since November 4, 2010, when the Huskies defeated Milwaukee, 5-1.
"It is huge when you can beat (Eastern Illinois') resistance early," said NIU head coach Ryan Swan of the fast start. "We knew that they are a good defensive team, they have shutout a lot of teams this year. Getting those (goals) early, they have to change the way they play and that helps us, it is certainly a positive thing."
It took NIU just 33 seconds to open the scoring as Eastern Illinois had the kickoff to open the game and played the ball around in its own half until a turnover near the end line. Senior Jan Maertins (Rheinfelden, Germany/Marquette) pounced on the turnover and fed Maynez Jr. who was all alone inside the box and fired past Eastern Illinois goalkeeper Jonathan Burke to give the Huskies an early lead.
Less than a minute later the Huskies doubled their advantage as Maertins played a low cross from the left side into the box to sophomore Nick Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) who swept home a second goal through the legs of Burke as the Huskies led 2-0 inside two minutes.
The wild start continued as Eastern Illinois (4-6-1) cut the NIU lead in half in the third minute. After a foul on the Huskies about 35 yards from goal, Nate Francke clipped the free kick up toward the back post where Shady Omar powered a header back across goal and into the net to bring the Panthers back within a goal.
Just before the quarter-hour mark NIU restored its two-goal advantage as Maynez scored his second of the contest. The sophomore transfer from New Mexico looked up from about 25 yards and whistled a shot across goal and past Burke to give the Huskies a 3-1 lead in the 15th minute.
NIU (5-6-1) found the back of the net again with its fourth shot of the contest in the 21st minute as sophomore Anthony Markanich (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) gave the Huskies a three-goal lead. The ball was swung across the field from right-to-left where it found the feet of Welch, who played it on into the path of Anthony Markanich for a rocket into the upper corner from near the top of the box as the Huskies took a 4-1 lead, an advantage they would take into the intermission.
In the 57th minute, Welch added a fifth for the Huskies. With the ball in space outside the box, Welch hit a dipping shot that skipped off the turf just in front of goal and past Burke to close the scoring.
Burke finished the contest with three saves in goal for Eastern Illinois; redshirt freshman Martin Sanchez (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) made four saves between the sticks for NIU.
"It was important that we got the right response after the Saint Mary's game," said Swan. "I think the guys will be feeling pretty good again, but conference games are a different thing all together. The next five games are going to be really tough, SIUE is a good team."
NIU will begin Mid-American Conference play on Saturday afternoon, October 12, when the Huskies welcome SIU Edwardsville to DeKalb. Kickoff against the Cougars is slated for 2 p.m.
North Carolina 3, West Virginia 1
Box Score
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The West Virginia University men's soccer team fell to No. 18-ranked North Carolina, 3-1, on Tuesday night at Dorrance Field at the UNC Soccer & Lacrosse Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Junior midfielder Pau Jimenez Albelda scored the first goal of his Mountaineer career in the 37th minute, but the Tar Heels' attack produced three goals in the nonconference affair. Junior goalkeeper Steven Tekesky made six saves in the loss, which dropped West Virginia to 6-4-1 on the season.
"We were surprised that they played over the top as much as they did and really made the game very up and down," WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. "They are a pretty good team at keeping the ball when they want to, and I thought the energy they started the game with put us on our heels. Then, we really got pinned back, and they were able to really wear out our legs.
"I think if we could've been at 1-0 when we got the goal back, then we would've been in good position. It was 'game on' for a little bit there at 2-1, but their third goal was a total breakdown on our part and broke our back a little bit. It's tough to go on the road for a midweek game against a quality team like North Carolina. Give them a ton of credit; they're a great team and very, very talented."
Tekesky's night started early when he made back-to-back saves in the fifth minute to deny an early Tar Heel goal. The Mountaineer back line stayed busy, though, fighting off more forward play by North Carolina (7-2-2) in the opening 15 minutes of play.
In the 21st minute, senior midfielder Andres Muriel Albino nearly gave WVU the lead on a shot from the corner of the box, before it sailed wide of the frame. Then, UNC took the lead on a 28th-minute goal off a corner kick.
Moments later, the hosts scored again, taking a 2-0 lead off a deflection.
Jimenez Albelda's goal came in the 37th minute on a cross sent in by freshman midfielder Luke McCormick. Sitting back post, Jimenez Albelda finished near the goal line to cut the deficit in half.
The helper was McCormick's team-leading fifth of the season.
In the second half, the Mountaineers continued their pursuit of the equalizer, before the Tar Heels registered their third tally in the 72nd minute on a flick that got by Tekesky. WVU's lone shot on goal in the second half came in the 87th when senior midfielder Pascal Derwaritsch's diving header was saved by the Tar Heel keeper.
UNC outshot WVU, 20-7, and held a 11-3 advantage in corner kicks. Jimenez Albelda and Muriel Albino led the Mountaineers with two shots apiece in the setback.
Next up, the Mountaineers return home to host Western Michigan on Sunday, Oct. 13, at 1 p.m. ET, in the squad's Mid-American Conference opener.
Sunday's match is Youth Soccer Day, with free admission to all youth. Along with a postgame soccer clinic and autograph session, Mountaineer Kids Club members can pick up their t-shirts and pillowcases at the contest, as well as meet Mr. Twister, the face paint and balloon animal artist, and Musket, the Mountaineer Kids Club mascot.
Butler 1, Akron 0
Box Score
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - A golden goal in the 110th minute (109:11) from Alex Lehtinen propelled Butler (6-4-0) to a 1-0 double-overtime men's soccer triumph over Akron (1-8-1) on Tuesday, Oct. 8.
Playing in their second consecutive overtime match, a short-handed Zips' squad battled the Bulldogs for nearly 110 minutes before Lehtinen headed home his second goal of the season off a corner kick from Jack Haywood to give Butler a 1-0 triumph.
Each side posted three shots apiece in overtime, en route to both teams finishing the evening with six shots on goal. The Bulldogs won the overall shot total, 17-10.
The Zips were paced by two shots apiece from seniors Skye Harter (Copley, Ohio) and Christian Lue Young (Plantation, Fla.) and freshman Mani Austmann (Gardabaer, Iceland). Lehtinen and Hemi Nasser directed the Bulldogs' attack with a game-high three shots each.
Gabriel Gjergji collected six saves in net for Butler en route to earning the shutout, while junior Joe Bowles (Stratford, England) recorded a career-best five saves.
Austmann registered the Zips' initial strike in the contest, a shot on goal at the 6:17 mark that was pulled in for a save by Gjergji.
Senior Leonard Sohn's (Richmond Hill, Ontario) strike in the box in the 29th minute (28:42) was blocked to deny the scoring chance.
Freshman Nicolas Alt (Basel, Switzerland) posted a shot on goal in the box at the 34:44 mark, one that was corralled for a save by Gjergji.
Akron recorded a 2-1 edge in shots on goal in the opening stanza, while the Bulldogs registered an 8-3 overall advantage in first-half shots.
Lue Young garnered the Zips' initial shot in the second half, a strike at the 59:51 mark that was saved by Gjergji. He then headed a shot in the box, one that went high, in the 66th minute (65:39).
Sophomore Sam Tojaga (Erie, Pa.) added a shot on goal off a corner kick from Harter at the 71:30 mark.
Bowles made a punchout save off a shot from Justin Savona in the 75th minute (74:47) before making another save off Wilmer Cabrera Jr. at the 80:19 mark.
The Bulldogs finished regulation owning a 14-7 advantage in shots.
Sophomore Marco Milanese's (Isernia, Italy) shot in the 93rd minute (92:15) went wide of the goal.
A header in the box by Harter at the 94:35 mark was pulled in for a save by Gjergji.
Bowles made save in the 100th minute (99:53) off the foot of Nasser.
Austmann delivered a shot at the 102:51 mark that was denied by a save from Gjergji.
Up next for Akron, the Zips open Mid-American Conference play on Saturday, Oct. 12, hosting Bowling Green in a 7 p.m. tilt at FirstEnergy Stadium.
