Goshen, IN — On a night where heart-warming storylines were practically falling out of the sky at the Goshen College Soccer Complex, it was the Goshen College men’ soccer team that took a very business-like approach in facing Bethel College (North Newton, Kan.), winning the match by a 4-1 score for its third consecutive home-field victory.

Sure, the team understood the varying ties to the Threshers’ program — the fact that Bethel head coach Gerry Sieber played for Goshen’s only undefeated team in school history, the fact that Goshen head coach Tavi Mounsithiraj played under Sieber at Hesston College (Hesston, Kan.) and the fact that Mounsithiraj was 6-1 in leading his Leafs’ teams against fellow Mennonite institutions. When the opening whistle blew, the Goshen team somehow forgot all of the additives surrounding the rare meeting between the institutions and flat out got to work.

All of it was pleasing to Mounsithiraj.

“What an evening for a soccer match between two Mennonite institutions and what a small world it is,” Mounsithiraj said following the match. “I went to Hesston College in Kansas and played under Coach Sieber for a year. It was Coach Sieber that had a problem pronouncing Thavisak Mounsithiraj (Mounsithiraj’s full name) and came up with ‘Tavi.’ This was a very special weekend for us and the alumni of both schools.”

Sieber may have once had a hard time remembering Mounsithiraj’s complete name, but times have certainly changed. With the Leafs’ win Friday night, Mounsithiraj bettered his win-loss record to 7-1 against Mennonite schools since taking over the program helm in 2001, adding to a 3-1 win over Sieber’s Bethel team in Kansas two years earlier.
Sieber, a member of the 1965 Goshen College team that finished a perfect 9-0, has spent the last 11 years at Bethel, attempting to rejuvenate a struggling program this season. Taking a trip East to face Goshen and then Bluffton University may not have been the most conducive idea toward that goal, however, as the Leafs were fully aware of Bethel’s abilities.

“Our guys did a great job preparing for this match with just one day between our last match (a 4-0 win over Trinity Christian on Wednesday),” Mounsithiraj said. “Before the match I told our guys that Bethel had several players that can cause problems and we needed to be ready to play hard as soon as we stepped on the field. That was evident right away.”

Bethel was able to stay step for step with the Goshen squad through much of the first half of play, perhaps playing on the emotion Sieber’s history had helped to create. After 30 minutes of the teams trading possession and sparse opportunities on goal, Mounsithiraj’s squad began to come to life offensively. Junior Ashe Abebe ignited the Leafs’ first scoring push at the 32nd minute-mark, heading a ball in the direction of sophomore Tony Janzen just outside the 18-yard box. Janzen corralled the ball with his chest and, with defenders on his back, blasted a right-footed shot from a difficult angle that just escaped the reach of the Threshers’ keeper.

Now trailing by a goal, Bethel attempted to turn up the intensity. Goshen’s defense continued its stalwart ways, denying Bethel pushes and placing the ball back upfield for counterattacks. With just under nine minutes remaining in the first period, Janzen sent a cleared ball from the Leafs’ own 18-yard box that sailed nearly 50 yards up the pitch. Freshman speedster Cody Felton tracked the ball down and began pressuring the Bethel defenders on the far side of the field. Incredibly, Felton then stole the ball from a Thresher back and dribbled past two others, sliding the ball into the middle of the field where Janzen was waiting. The pass was so amazing that when Janzen received the ball, there was not a Bethel defender within 20 yards. He sized up the Thresher keeper for what seemed like an eternity, then placed the ball into the corner of the net in what equated to a penalty kick shot during live play.

“I turned to my assistants and said, ‘No he didn’t!’ when Cody stole the ball and centered it to Tony,” Mounsithiraj said. “Tony had just sprinted 60 yards, and then to receive the ball with seemingly forever to line up a shot was just incredible. A goal like that you don’t congratulate the goal scorer, you congratulate the guy who made it happen. And Cody Felton made an incredible play to make that happen.”

With the student-body crowd growing to its usual fervor, the half concluded with a 2-0 Goshen lead on the scoreboard. And while Mounsithiraj cautioned against complacency — “A two goal lead can be very dangerous,” he said — it still didn’t matter. Bethel came out of the gates pressuring up front, eventually scoring with just 15 minutes elapsed in the period. Goshen’s lead was cut in half with 30 minutes to play.

“I knew Bethel College would come out hard and try to get back in the match,” Mounsithiraj said. “If we could have scored the third goal the fat lady would have been humming, but if Bethel scored I knew we would be in for a dog fight. I didn’t want that, but sure enough Bethel was all over us from the kick off. After they scored, I told the guys to settle down and do a better job with the ball.”

Faced with Mounsithiraj’s challenge, Goshen’s stellar defensive unit came to life. As Bethel pushed harder for the equalizer, the Leafs’ began to look for opportunities to break down the field, with its first successful jaunt coming at the 30th minute-mark. Freshman Raad Qumsieh was able to break free for a look inside Bethel’s 18, but was fouled just before getting his shot off. He drilled the ensuing penalty kick for a 3-1 lead and a sigh of relief from Mounsithiraj.

Goshen (3-0-1, 0-0) didn’t stop its pushes, however, as just minutes later it was Janzen in the mix again, placing a beautiful setup pass from Bethel’s end line to an awaiting Abebe. Abebe fired a rocket toward the net but Bethel’s keeper was able to get an oustretched hand on the ball, sending it back into the field of play. Leaf junior Joel Gonzalez was waiting for the deflection, outrunning everyone to the ball and placing it into the back of the net for his first goal of the season.

“I thought we played quite well as a team and having players come off the bench to contribute was a plus,” Mounsithiraj said.

If there was a negative to the entire evening, it came late in the match, as Janzen was cleated in the face while chasing down a loose ball. Goshen College head athletic trainer Linda Kaminskis said that Janzen would not need stitches to close the gouge between his eyes, but would feel the effects for a few days. He is not expected to miss any practice time.

Goshen will next take to the road for the first time this season, as the team will face Moody Bible College in Chicago Saturday afternoon. That match also has a significant slant, as Mounsithiraj is 0-2 playing at Moody Bible as the Leafs’ head coach. Match time is slated for 1 p.m.