Marion, IN — The smooth sailing that has comprised the majority of this season’s Goshen College men’s soccer team hit some extremely rough waters Wednesday night, as the Leafs suffered a 4-0 defeat to Mid-Central Conference rival Indiana Wesleyan University. The loss was severe on many fronts, most notably the resulting implications in the MCC Championship race: With the loss, Goshen (10-5-1, 4-1-1) dropped from league leader to third place, now needing help from other conference teams to repeat as MCC Champs. The defeat was the first such result in the last nine matches for the squad, while the four goals allowed was the most since last season’s 1-4 loss to Bethel College on Sept. 30.

With a talented Marian College squad next on the list, Goshen head coach Tavi Mounsithiraj can only hope that Wednesday’s events were simply a bump in the road, and not a wrong turn for his team.

“This was a very tough loss for us playing a very good Indiana Wesleyan side at their place,” Mounsithiraj said. “Lately we have not been playing up to our ability and that starts with myself. It is my job to get these guys ready to play but lately we are just not doing that. We came out playing like we did not want to be there tonight, and IWU gave it to us right away.”

The Wildcats — who with the win claimed a current second-place stronghold in the MCC race with a 4-1-1 conference mark — used a physical approach at the game’s outset that caught Goshen off guard. A total 21 fouls were called against the hosts — to only eight for Goshen — but Wesleyan’s pushy approach worked: Just 14 minutes into the match, the Wildcats were able to score off a rebound attempt, after senior goalkeeper Craig Welscott came off the end line to pursue a long ball. It was the first break of many to go in Indiana Wesleyan’s direction, as Goshen finished the half in a dominating manner.

Junior forward Tony Janzen had a pair of brilliant one on one maneuvers that led to respectable looks at the Wildcat net, only to send a pair of low liners just inches wide. Senior Joel Miller actually put a ball in the back of Wesleyan’s net just before halftime, but the buzzer had sounded literally seconds before the ball crossed the line.

“Wesleyan came out and pressured us right away,” Mounsithiraj said. “We never really recovered after that first goal, though we had our chances. We actually tapped the ball into (Wesleyan’s) goal as time expired (in the first half) but it didn’t count. We could have tied the match had we had three or four more seconds, and who knows what would have happened? Oh. . .what a night for our men’s side.”

Sensing the Leafs’ frustration, Indiana Wesleyan made the most of fewer chances. Despite being outshot on goal by an 11 to eight count and giving up 10 Leafs’ corner kicks to five of their own, the Wildcats tacked on scores at the 57th, 65th and 84th minute-marks, causing a post-game celebration in the stands.

The Mid-Central Conference leader had been knocked off.

“Even down one to nil in the second half we had our chances,” Mounsithiraj said. “Tony got off a shot from 35 yards and the IWU keeper made a great diving play. We got a corner off that, and we felt really good going into the second half. It was just, ‘not today’ for GC.”

Mounsithiraj complimented the play of Janzen and sophomore Cody Felton up front, while sophomore Raad Qumsieh became more of a presence on the outside as the game wore on. Qumiseh is still searching for his first goal of the season after scoring four in his freshman campaign.

“Even though we lost the match I was pleased to see some of our players stepping up and challenge to the end,” Mounsithiraj said. “It was also nice to see first-year players like Kyle Stiffney, Nick Good and Jordan Delp no longer playing like rookies. We will learn from this loss and get ourselves ready for this weekend.”

Goshen must now win out and hope for an Indiana Wesleyan loss and a Bethel College loss to claim outright MCC Championship honors. The squad’s next match is a challenge in its own right, however, as Marian — with a 5-2 league record — will visit the Goshen College Soccer Complex Saturday night. The evening’s festivities will include a tribute to the program’s nine senior members. Match time is set for 7 p.m.