NOV. 2 — Season Ends In First-Round Of MCC Tournament With 0-5 Loss
Early IWU score forces change of gameplan for Leafs; squad can't recover

Head coach Tavi Mounsithiraj

Marion, IN — Heading into Saturday’s Mid-Central Collegiate Conference Tournament first round match up with Indiana Wesleyan, Goshen’s game plan was to play solid defense in the first half, letting its offense stem from chances created by that defense. Scoring just four minutes into the match, third-seeded Wesleyan thwarted that idea, forcing the Leafs to play catch up early.

“After we gave up such an early goal, our plans had to change a little bit,” said Tavi Mounisthiraj, Goshen head coach. “We wanted to get the goal back right away, but we could not find the net.”

Goshen (8-9-2, 2-4-1) went into the half down by the 0-1 count, despite outshooting the Wildcats six to four in the first half. Mounsithiraj told his team to remain patient in the first half of the second stanza, but stated the 70th minute as a key point.

“I told the team during halftime that if nothing happened before that point, we needed to start attacking with everyone,” Mounsithiraj said. “We would need everyone moving forward attacking if we couldn’t get a score in the first part of the second half.”

The Leafs could not score early, and with 20 minutes remaining in the game began their frantic attack for the tying goal. Getting several good chances, Goshen still could not score, and Wesleyan took quick advantage of the Leafs’ offensive push. The Wildcats scored four additional goals in the last 20 minutes of the match.

The loss brings a bittersweet end to the Leafs season, where Goshen made enormous improvements over last season’s three-win output. Sadly, Goshen lost its final six games of the current year. At one point Goshen’s record stood at 7-2-2.

“I wish (Saturday’s) result could have been better, but we are still young and have a lot to learn,” Mounsithiraj said. “We’ll be back next year and hopefully the best days are still ahead.”

Sophomore Alex Miller

Grand Rapids, MI — Playing without six of its starters Wednesday, Goshen dropped a tough-to-swallow 1-2 loss at Cornerstone. After playing the majority of the game to a 1-1 tie, the Golden Eagles found the back of the net with only 10 seconds remaining in regulation, giving the Leafs their fifth straight defeat in heartbreaking fashion.

“One of their forwards got a foot on the ball and it went through about 15 players, not touching any of them,” Goshen head coach Tavi Mounsithiraj said of Cornerstone’s final goal. “(Senior goalkeeper) Nik Stoltzfus didn’t even get a chance to see the ball.”

With Saturday’s Mid-Central Collegiate Conference Tournament pairings already set, Wednesday’s match against the Golden Eagles had no post-season relevance for Goshen (8-8-2, 2-4-1). Thus, Mounsithiraj elected to sit players with nagging injuries — six, in all — in an effort to be healthier for Saturday’s match against Indiana Wesleyan.

As a result, Goshen received good play from several bench players, including sophomore Alex Miller. After Cornerstone scored at the 29th minute, Miller took a (freshman) Dan Adcock pass and scored on a volley, tying the game at one apiece heading into the half. That score remained until the Golden Eagles miracle finish in the waning seconds.

“In the second half, we played great defense but just couldn’t get anything going offensively,” Mounsithiraj said. “Nik Stoltzfus (14 saves) had some awesome saves to keep us in the match, but we just couldn’t convert on our end.”

Mounsithiraj complimented the play of senior Kaleab Abebe, juniors Seth Combs and John Weldy and sophomores Pete Nyce and Kyle Yoder. Goshen now heads into post-season play against the Wildcats. Match time for the Saturday first-round match is set for 7 p.m.

Putting the hammer down: Freshman Josh Sprunger attacks the EMU defense in the first half of Monday's match. Sprunger was unavailable to play in the second half after inuring his wrist late in the first period.

Near score: Junior midfielder Jon Cook works around the last line of EMU's defense in the first half. Goshen had several legitimate opportunities to score in the first half, but went to halftime with a 0-0 tie.

Goshen, IN — In the most physical match of soccer to take place at the Goshen College Soccer Complex this season, the host Leafs dropped a tough 2-1 overtime decision to arch-rival Eastern Mennonite University on Monday. Seven yellow cards were handed out on the night, including two to Goshen senior defender Edward Chintonho, leaving the Leafs with only 10 players on the field after Chintonho’s second card — an automatic ejection — came midway through the second half.

“I thought the center referee gave the card to the wrong person, but there is nothing you can do about that,” said Goshen head coach Tavi Mounsithiraj. “We reorganized a little in the back (after Chintonho’s ejection), but without one of our better defenders it was tough.”

EMU scored the first goal of the game just two minutes following Chintonho’s disqualification, after nearly 60 minutes of scoreless soccer. Despite being down one player and one score, Goshen (8-7-2, 2-4-1) continued to push hard for a tying goal. With only eight minutes remaining in the match, junior midfielder Jon Cook was taken down just outside the box. Sophomore Tom Stahly took the direct kick and placed a severe banana ball into the top of the net, tying the score at one apiece and eventually forcing overtime.

“Tom Stahly kicked a wicked curved ball over the four-man wall of EMU and hit just inside the cross bar that was just out of reach of the EMU goalkeeper,” Mounsithiraj said. “Tom is very good at kicking set pieces for us, and he came up big in that situation.”

In the overtime session, Mounsithiraj knew his team was living on borrowed time. With EMU’s power play still in effect — once a team loses a player to a card ejection, it may not substitute any player in for that player’s position for the remainder of the game — the Royals eventually scored with only a minute left in the first overtime period.

“When we got to overtime, I wasn’t sure how much we could do (being down one man),” Mounsithiraj said. “We were just hoping to get one more chance but it never came.”

In addition to losing Chintonho midway through the second half, the Leafs were also without their energetic freshman midfielder Josh Sprunger for most of the night. Sprunger injured his wrist late in the first half, and was not able to return afterward. Goshen and EMU both played tough, physical first halves, with defense dominating the tempo on both sides. Both the EMU keeper and Goshen senior keeper Nik Stoltzfus came up with big saves in the first half of play, keeping the game scoreless.

“We played our hearts out tonight and it was just not our night,” Mounsithiraj said. “EMU is a very good team with many talented individuals. I am very proud of how we still played hard even when the odds were against us. We still have some good soccer left this season and we need to come together to make a good run at the MCC (Mid-Central Collegiate Conference) Tournament.”

Goshen has one final regular season game before that tournament begins, as the Leafs will travel to Cornerstone for a 3 p.m. contest on Wednesday. Following that match, Goshen will travel to Indiana Wesleyan on Nov. 2 for the first round of the MCC Tournament. Match time is slated to begin at 2 p.m. For a complete list of MCC Tournament pairings and seedings, click here.

Senior Brian Miller

Hanover, IN — After finishing the month of September in red-hot fashion winning four straight matches, Goshen’s October troubles continued Saturday, as the Leafs lost their third straight match by an 0-3 count to Hanover.

With the loss to the Panthers, Goshen (8-6-2, 2-4-1) has lost four of its last five contests, and has gone scoreless in its last three matches. With only two games left prior to the start of the Mid-Central Collegiate Conference Tournament, head coach Tavi Mounsithiraj is hoping that his team can find some answers, and quickly.

“We are not playing well at all in our last three matches, and we need to start finding a way to win again soon,” he said. “We are very capable of playing so much better than we are now. We’ve just got to find that again.”

It was an ugly affair for the Leafs at Hanover, though it started smoothly. The Leafs had several good opportunities early in the contest, but could not convert on its early shots on goal. Hanover, however, made the most of its first attempt on goal, scoring it and the following two additional shots on goal to make the score 3-0, Hanover, all in just the 25th minute of the match. Goshen attempted to rebound from the quick hat trick of goals from the Panthers, but could not.

“We started out playing really good soccer for about the first 15 minutes or so, and had several really good chances to score a goal or two,” Mounsithiraj said. “After Hanover scored its three goals, we tried to reorganize ourselves and make a slow, steady push at them, but with little result.”

Goshen attempted seven shots on goal and had five corner kicks on the afternoon, as opposed to Hanover’s eight and eight, respectively.

The Leafs will host Eastern Mennonite University on Monday evening. Match time is slated for 7 p.m., immediately following the women’s contest with EMU. That match is set for a 5 p.m. start time.

Tight-rope: Senior Kaleab Abebe keeps the ball in play along the sideline in a match earlier this season. Abebe and his offensive teammates had a rough go of it against Bethel Tueday, failing to score on four attempts.

Goshen, IN — Through the first 45 minutes of Tuesday’s match between Goshen and the 15th-ranked Bethel Pilots, the Leafs’ game plan was being executed perfectly: Play solid, fundamentally sound defense and take opportunities when presented. Goshen went into the half with a 0-0 tie on the scoreboard, and head coach Tavi Mounsithiraj was pleased.

“Our game plan was to simply play great defense, and in the first half we accomplished that,” Mounsithiraj said. “Bethel controlled most of the play but we never put ourselves in a dangerous situation.”

Execution of the game plan continued into the second half, as the Leafs (8-5-2, 2-4-1) staved off any serous Pilot threats for the first 15 minutes of the second stanza. Then, the Leafs made what Mounsithiraj called “a defensive mistake.” Bethel quickly capitalized on a poor Goshen pass in its backfield, and took the go-ahead goal at the 61st minute.

“Against a team as good as Bethel, you just cannot give them opportunities like we did,” Mounsithiraj said. “We cannot make a mistake in the back and allow Bethel to have a good look at our goal. We are still learning, though, and hopefully we will improve from this match and will continue to get better each match.”

Once the Pilots scored the first goal, the team that has not lost a Mid-Central Collegiate Conference match in the last three years smelled blood. A follow up goal later in the half and a penalty kick score after that sealed the defeat for Goshen, playing in its final MCC regular-season contest of the year.

The Leafs had its best chances to score against Bethel in the first half, when freshman forward Dan Adcock nearly put the ball in the net from close range but just missed early in the period, and just before the half when sophomore Nick Yoder nearly headed a corner kick into the net, but it ricocheted off the cross bar.

Despite its MCC season being complete, the Leafs still have plenty of soccer left before the MCC Tournament begins. Goshen will travel to Hanover and Cornerstone, and will host the final home match of the season against Eastern Mennonite on Oct. 21. The team’s next match, at Hanover, will take place Friday. Match time is set for 3 p.m.

Senior Nik Stoltzfus

Upland, IN — Goshen lost a tough Mid-Central Collegiate Conference match to Taylor Saturday, falling by a 2-0 score. Despite numerous good chances to score throughout the match — Goshen attempted nine shots on goal — the Leafs were denied by a Taylor squad with something to prove.

“Today Taylor played with a lot of emotion and pride and we were simply not up for the test,” said Tavi Mounsithiraj, Goshen head coach. “In the first half, we started out playing very well and getting very good chances to score, but the Taylor University goalkeeper seemed to come up with some good saves.”

Goshen (8-4-2, 2-3-1) gave up the first score to Taylor at the 20th minute, and after a turnover in the backfield just five minutes later, the Trojans scored again. Despite a better attack in the second stanza, the Leafs could not find any offensive production.

“In the second half we did a better job of making passes and going for the attack getting good chances again and again,” Mounsithiraj said. “We had one shot drill the cross bar that (almost) went in, but that was it.”

Senior keeper Nik Stoltzfus provided five saves in goal for the Leafs on the afternoon, defending against seven Trojan shots and four corner kicks.

Goshen will have its work cut out when the team will host the 18th-ranked Bethel Pilots Tuesday. Bethel has not lost an MCC match in three seasons, and was defeated in the second round of the NAIA National Tournament last year.

“Indeed they are a great team and fun to watch,” Mounsithiraj said of his rivals. “We’ll need a full section of bleachers cheering us on.”

Match time is slated for 7 p.m.

Crossover: Junior Ben Reed toys with a Moody Bible defender in the first half of Tuesday night's match. With the win over the Archers, Goshen has taken five of its last six games.

Goshen, IN — The Goshen College men’s soccer team finished off its five-game home stand in fitting fashion Tuesday night, defeating Moody Bible Institute by a 4-0 score. The Leafs have won five of their last six contests with the win, and posted their eighth win of the year. The blanker against Moody was also Goshen’s sixth of the season, an impressive stat after Goshen had no shutouts last year.

Goshen head coach Tavi Mounsithiraj said that last season’s 0-4 defeat at the Archers’ home field was used to help his players gear up for Tuesday’s match.

“Last year when we went to Moody, we got be four to nil,” Mounsithiraj said. “We used that to motivate us for tonight’s match. Tonight we got a good effort from everybody. I am very proud of these guys and how far they’ve come from last year.”

Goshen (8-3-2, 2-2-1) got on track early against the Archers, when sophomore Nick Yoder took a Tom Stahly (sophomore) pass and volleyed it into the net from the top of the box at the 13th minute. That was the only score of the first half for Goshen, however, as Mounsithiraj was not pleased with his team’s push for the remainder of the stanza.

“For some reason we seemed to lose sight of what we needed to do as we started to lose our offensive momentum (in the first half),” Mounsithiraj said.

Such was not the case in the second 45-minute period, however, as Goshen began to consume possession of the ball and began an offensive ambush. Scores at the 50th minute by sophomore Ben Steininger, at the 58th minute from freshman Josh Sprunger and at the 67th minute by Yoder equaled as efficient stretch of offense the Leafs have produced this season. With just over 20 minutes remaining in the match, Mounsithiraj urged his team to play for the shutout, which they were able to collect.

“I have to give credit to the defensive team of (junior) Jon Bontrager, (senior) Edward Chintonho, (junior) Ben Metcalf, (sophomore) Kyle Yoder, (freshman) Jacob Stuckey and our goalkeeper (senior) Nik Stoltzfus for the shutout,” Mounsithiraj said.

Goshen will finally be on the road again this Saturday for a Mid-Central Collegiate Conference match up with Taylor. Match time is slated for 2 p.m.

Clearing: Sophomore Tom Stahly passes the ball downfield in the second half of Friday night's contest against St. Francis. Stahly's penalty kick with just over three minutes to play was the Leafs' best chance to tie the game, but it sailed just high.

Goshen, IN — Nearly one week after claiming an amazing, come-from-behind 3-2 overtime win against Mid-Central Collegiate Conference foe Huntington, the Leafs were at it again Friday night at the Goshen College Soccer Complex. Again, the Leafs trailed — this time by a 1-0 count against MCC opponent St. Francis — and again, the team had a chance to produce a miracle finish.

Alas, despite another sold-out crowd urging the team on, a victory was not to be had. Goshen (7-3-2, 2-2-1) fell to the Cougars by the 1-0 score, ending its four-game win streak in the process.

“I thought we played quite well but the ball just didn’t bounce in our favor tonight,” said Tavi Mounsithiraj, Goshen head coach. “I was very pleased with the way we played after being down one to nil. Everyone played hard and with a lot of passion. When you play hard and can’t get the result you want, that is okay — the other team was just one shot better than us tonight.”

The Cougars’ score came early — just nine minutes into the match. Both teams played a hard-fought remainder of the first half, with neither team making a strong push to score.

In the second half, however, Goshen began pushing in an all-out attack mode, desperately seeking the equalizing score. With the crowd in an anticipatory fervor, it looked as if the ball was going to bounce in Goshen’s favor.

With just over 10 minutes to play, St. Francis fired a shot from the right side of the field. The ball grazed through senior keeper Nik Stoltzfus’ hands and landed at the feet of a Cougar striker. With an undefended two-foot space between Stoltzfus’ back and the goal post, all the St. Francis player had to do was tap the ball in for a two-goal lead. Instead, the ball rolled just wide, and the crowd could feel another Goshen come back beginning.

That seemed even more likely when incredibly, with only three minutes to play, freshman midfielder Josh Sprunger was taken down in the box resulting in a penalty kick for the Leafs. Sophomore Tom Stahly was called upon by Mounsithiraj to take the shot that could tie the match. His shot was too high, however, and caromed off the cross bar. The Cougars were able to clear the ball from danger in the ensuing rush, and the decision was sealed.

“We had our chances, but it wasn’t to be,” Mounsithiraj said. “We played hard and were pushing very hard in the second half for an equalizing goal. It just didn’t happen for us tonight.”

Goshen will host Moody Bible College Tuesday. The match will be designated as “Senior Night.” That match will begin at 7:30 p.m.

With urgency: Sophomore Tom Stahly manuevers in and out of traffic late in the second half Saturday night. Stahly provided the winning goal for the Leafs in overtime.

Goshen, IN — If there ever was a three-dimensional example of the phrase, “Don’t Ever Give Up,” the Goshen College men’s soccer players were just that Saturday night against Mid-Central Collegiate Conference rival Huntington. After falling behind by a 0-2 count with only 12 minutes remaining in regulation, the Leafs somehow managed to score three goals in a total of 20 minutes to win the overtime game in thrilling fashion, 3-2.

“To come back from (being down) two-nil and win in overtime was amazing,” said Tavi Mounsithiraj, Goshen head coach. “This was a very nice win for us and for our fans.”

The fantastic finish was preceded by a fairly typical first half of soccer. Neither team could mount much of a offensive attack, with both teams only having a few chances on goal in the first 45 minutes of play.

“We started out playing team defense and forcing the other team to turn the ball over,” Mounsithiraj said. “We were just sitting back and waiting for the counter attack.”

In the second half, however, it was Huntington that stormed out of the gates, scoring a quick two goals. The first came in the first minute of the second half, and the second came at the 14th minute of the stanza. Goshen (7-2-2, 2-1-1) looked dazed, and Mounsithiraj felt the game slipping away.

“We never seemed to regain our pattern of play after the first Huntington score,” Mounsithiraj said. “I told the guys after (Huntington) scored again that we had nothing to lose. We needed to just throw ourselves into it.”

Goshen began pushing harder for scores, but had no luck for the majority of the second period. With Huntington playing ball control offense and stellar defense, the Leafs' time was running out.

But then, in the 77th minute of regulation, a rarity in soccer occurred. Huntington passed the ball back to sophomore goalkeeper Courtney Hamilton to relieve pressure of a mounting Goshen attack. Hamilton attempted to trap the ball with his foot, but he mishandled it. The ball gently rolled into the net for an own goal courtesy of the Foresters, making the score 2-1, Huntington.

With new life, the Leafs began pushing even harder for the tying score. Time and time again Huntington was able to fend off Goshen pressure, including eight Maple Leaf corner kicks on the evening. Huntington actually put another ball in Goshen’s net with nine minutes remaining in regulation, but the score was waived off due to a Forester free kick — that led to the apparent score — bending out of bounds before bending back into play.

Finally, with just over a minute remaining in regulation, Goshen freshman Josh Sprunger was able to outrun everyone to a loose ball after a free kick, scoring the tying goal. With another sold out crowd at the Goshen College Soccer Complex going berserk, it was anyone’s game.

In the overtime, Goshen would not be denied. With two minutes left to play in the first extra period, senior Kaleab Abebe was taken down along the sideline, giving the Leafs a direct kick from 25 yards out. Sophomore Tom Stahly, taking the kick, was attempting to place a ball in the box for a teammate to use, but his shot arched high above anyone’s reach on the field. Instead, his banana ball bounced once in the middle of a crowd in the box, but went untouched. His shot found the right corner of the goal, and the celebration was on. Students rushed the field in a melee of enthusiasm, as players and coaches celebrated with them.

Following the game, Mounsithiraj gave much of the credit to his defensive unit, saying that they were primarily responsible for giving the offense a chance to attack late.

Goshen finally has a long week of recovery time and practice before its next match. The Leafs will host MCC foe St. Francis on Friday. Match time is set for 8 p.m.

Around the D: Junior Jon Cook works the ball downfield as two Manchester defenders attempt to mark him. Cook scored the first goal of the night for the Leafs, after a tough one on one move beat the last Spartan field defender. Goshen won the contest by a 2-1 score.

Goshen, IN — The scene at the Goshen College Soccer Complex has become a redundant one: Goshen soundly takes control of a game, scores first and then dominates possession for the remainder of the contest. And all in front of a jam-packed crowd.

Such was the case again Wednesday night, where the Leafs (6-2-2, 1-1-1) cruised past Manchester by a 2-1 score. With the win, Goshen collected its sixth of the year, twice as many as last season. The win was also the Leafs’ third in a row, giving the team a strong surge of momentum as it enters the thick of the Mid-Central Collegiate Conference season.

“We started out playing with a lot of confidence knowing that we could take control early and I thought we did that in the first half,” Goshen head coach Tavi Mounsithiraj said of Wednesday’s game. “This was a good win for us and will help prepare us for our MCC match with Huntington (on Saturday).”

Goshen got the offense in gear in the 25th minute, when junior Jon Cook took a Ben Metcalf (junior) pass from midfield and worked his way past the last field defender, touching the ball in the corner of the net for a 1-0 lead. Both teams worked hard to control possession, and neither could mount much of an attack for the remainder of the half.

In the second period, however, the Leafs scored again, this time at the 58th minute. Sophomore Tom Stahly won a tackle and fed the ball to classmate Ben Steininger, who put on a hesitation move and shot the ball past the Spartan keeper, making the score 2-0, Goshen.

“I told the team at halftime that being up one could allow us to be more patient,” Mounsithiraj said. “I said that by being patient, good things would come to us. It paid off with Ben’s score.”

The Leafs started to relax a bit, as a frantic Manchester team began pushing hard and scored at the 69th minute. Former Bethany Christian High School player Andrew Kamiaskis scored for the Spartans with a little over 21 minutes to play. Kamiski was one of five Manchester players coming out of either Bethany or Goshen High School, which made for a very personal match. With eight players on the Maple Leafs’ squad from those local prep schools, words were exchanged between teams throughout the night. Three yellow cards were handed out on the evening, but order was kept.

Goshen will take two days to prepare for MCC rival Huntington on Saturday. The Leafs will host the Foresters for a 7 p.m. match under the lights.

Springing Sprunger: Freshman Josh Sprunger gets up for a header during Satruday night's game against Bluffton. Sprunger was one of six Leafs to score against the Beavers, collecting two goals on the night.

Goshen, IN — The Goshen College men’s soccer team put on a clinic for a jam-packed crowd at the Goshen College Soccer Complex Saturday night, hammering the Bluffton Beavers by a 7-2 score. The Leafs (5-2-2, 1-1-1) took a 6-0 lead into halftime and never looked back, providing a festival-like atmosphere for the rowdy Goshen fans.

“This was a fun match for us,” said Goshen head coach Tavi Mounsithiraj. “Anytime you can put seven goals in the net, it’s quite impressive.”

Goshen got it going early and often against the Beavers, when freshman Josh Sprunger put on a crafty two-on-one move and scored at the 11th minute of the game. Just three minutes later senior goalkeeper Nik Stoltzfus booted the ball downfield 70 yards, where sophomore Ben Steininger was able to run underneath it. Steininger then scored.

Only two minutes later it was Sprunger going to work again, placing a 20-yard chip shot over the Bluffton keeper’s head to make the score 3-0.

As if the 3-0 lead wasn’t enough, the Leafs then began to make incredible plays to score. At the 24th minute, Sprunger made a beautiful cross-field pass to senior forward Kaleab Abebe, who made a sweet one-on-one move and then scored from six yards out. At the 42nd minute mark, it was Steininger delivering a picture-perfect cross into the middle of the box, where senior Dan Charles rose above everyone to head the ball into the net with authority. Finally, to end the frenetic first half of play, junior Ben Reed took the ball all the way to the Bluffton baseline and centered it to a streaking Tom Stahly (sophomore), who put the ball in the net at the 44th minute.

“We were simply playing with a lot of intensity,” Mounisthiraj said of the first half onslaught. “We showed that we wanted to win this match.”

In the second half, however, Goshen could not duplicate its frenzied pace. Taking heed of Mounsithiraj’s halftime request to “slow down a little bit and not push forward as much,” Goshen gave up a quick two scores to the Beavers. With Stoltzfus done for the evening and sophomore Aaron Gerber keeping goal, Bluffton found a brief hot streak. A penalty kick at the 50th minute and a one-on-one score at the 51st minute made the score 6-2, Goshen. The Leafs were able to add one more insurance goal off the foot of sophomore Nick Yoder at the 69th minute mark.

Goshen was able to connect on an amazing seven of its eight shots on goal, while saving six shots from Bluffton. Stoltzfus was credited with one save, while Gerber collected five in the second half of play.

“I was hoping for a shut out but it was not to be,” Mounsithiraj said. “It is a lot easier to play for a shut out with a one-nil lead than it is with a six-nil lead, but we have got to have discipline.”

Mounsithiraj also said that the game provided the chance for many players to play who usually don’t: He noted that freshmen Nick Lowen, Jacob Stuckey and Dan Shetler all provided good minutes in seldom-seen game action.

Goshen will host Manchester Wednesday night. Game time is set for 7 p.m.

Senior Nik Stoltzfus

Winona Lake, IN — Having to jump off the team bus and immediately run to the field for Thursday’s game at Grace had no ill-effects for Goshen, as the Leafs defeated its Mid-Central Collegiate Conference arch-rival by a 1-0 count on a wet, overcast afternoon. Goshen head coach Tavi Mounsithiraj elected to have his players warm up at home before making the 30-minute trip to Winona Lake, as opposed to giving them a 20-minute warm-up period at the actual game site. What Mounsithiraj didn’t plan on was a torrential downpour during travel that slowed the trip considerably, keeping the Goshen team from arriving at Grace’s field until just a few minutes before kickoff.

“We got there in the nick of time, and this was a big win for us,” said Mounsithiraj, who was extremely pleased with his squad’s effort. “I have nothing but praise for our team today.”

With the win, Mounsithiraj and his team accomplished a list of firsts: The win over Grace was the Lancers’ first MCC loss of the year, and put Goshen (4-2-2, 1-1-1) in the top half of the conference standings. It was also Goshen’s first MCC victory under the second-year coach in Mounsithiraj, who did not win a conference match last season. The Leafs also won its fourth game of the year, one more victory than the team accomplished during the entire 2001 campaign. This was especially pleasing for Mounsithiraj, after his team started the season off with three straight wins, only to have the last four contests result in two ties and then two losses.

“This was an all around great effort from our team,” Mounsithiraj said. “Grace is a very good team. I am quite proud of the way our players handled themselves after two losses in a row and were able to come back and get a win against a team like Grace College.”

After a scoreless first half, Goshen received offense off the foot of freshman midfielder Josh Sprunger. At the 74th minute of the game, Sprunger took a throw in from junior Ben Metcalf and rocketed a shot from 25 yards out, wrapping the ball in behind the post.

And while that was the only score of a balanced game — Goshen had four attempts on goal while Grace had five — Mounsithiraj said the turning point was just minutes before Sprunger’s score on the defensive end.

With Grace attacking, senior keeper Nik Stoltzfus made the save of the season thus far. The Lancers were able to slip the ball to an attacking forward who had a shot from point-blank range. Somehow, Stoltzfus was able to use all of his 6-7 frame to dive backwards, barely keeping the ball from crossing the line. The game was Stoltzfus’ fifth shut out of the year, in what has been an all-conference caliber season so far.

“Once again, our defense stepped up and played tough for ninety minutes,” Mounsithiraj said. “Nik (Stoltzfus) had an incredible save, but he had plenty of help from all of our defensive players. What a win this was today.”

Goshen will round off its second consecutive three-game week with a home match against Bluffton on Saturday. Game time is set for 6 p.m.

Junior Ben Reed

Adrian, MI — Missing its leading scorer in junior Nate Shenk, Goshen could not find the net Tuesday against Siena Heights and dropped its second contest of the season, losing by a 1-0 score. The Leafs (3-2-2, 0-1-1) attempted four more shots on goal than the Saints, but did not succeed in scoring.

“I thought we played a very good match against a more physical opponent,” said Tavi Mounsithiraj, Goshen head coach. “In both halves I thought we outplayed them and just could not put the ball in the back of the net. We created a lot of chances, but the ball did not bounce our way.”

Mounsithiraj had to make adjustments since he was out the services of Shenk, who will most likely be out three to four weeks. Shenk is believed to have torn cartilage in his left knee against Marian on Saturday, and will have an MRI next week. Pending no ligament damage is found, Shenk will return in approximately one month. He has scored three goals for the Leafs this season.

“It is tough that Nate is out,” Mounsithiraj said. “But, the team has to step up and play with more intensity.”

Still, Goshen had its chances Tuesday. Mounsithiraj noted junior Ben Reed’s play off the bench as being “dangerous” at the wing position. Sophomore Kyle Yoder also provided help, but every player had a tough time finding the net for the Leafs.

Goshen will travel to Mid-Central Collegiate Conference rival Grace on Thursday. Match time is set for 4 p.m.