Spring Arbor, MI — Once again, the party was delayed.

The wait didn’t make it any less sweet.

The Goshen College men’s soccer team knocked off host Spring Arbor University by a 2-1 score Tuesday afternoon, allowing the squad a chance at a second consecutive Mid-Central Conference Championship. The Leafs had to wait, however, to hear the score from the Bethel College – Indiana Wesleyan University match to know its final league standing.

Goshen finished its match at Spring Arbor just before 6 p.m. The Bethel – Indiana Wesleyan tilt didn’t begin until 7 p.m. in Marion.

“It was an interesting bus ride home,” said Tavi Mounsithiraj, Goshen head coach. “We all were waiting for the news from Indiana Wesleyan. At about 9:12 p.m., just before we pulled into campus, my phone rang with the result.”

It was good news.

Indiana Wesleyan knocked off Bethel by a 4-2 score to finish with a 6-1-1 MCC record, equaling Goshen’s league mark for a second straight MCC Co-Champion finish. Goshen (12-5-1, 6-1-1) shared the league title with Bethel College last season (click here for article), and now captures the program’s 19th league title with this season’s co-championship.

“I didn’t know what to think as we got ready to take the field for our final regular-season game today,” Mounsithiraj said. “Our guys knew how important this game was for us in order to have a chance at a conference championship. I was curious how they would respond.”

Perhaps driven by experience, the squad’s answer was positive.

Like last year, Goshen had to win its final game to have a chance at a title, and, like last year, the Leafs responded with a 2-1 win on the road. Despite horrid field conditions and surrendering an early 1-0 lead to Spring Arbor, Goshen regrouped to register its first consecutive conference championships since the 1987 and 1988 seasons.

“I thought we came out playing with a lot of energy today,” Mounsithiraj said. “The field was very muddy and wet and not an ideal condition for our passing game but the guys knew what they had to do.”

A Spring Arbor counter attack minutes into play looked to foil Goshen’s plans, however, as the Cougars scored off a corner kick set at the game’s 26th-minute mark. Looking to ride that momentum throughout the contest, Spring Arbor remained aggressive.

Goshen did not budge.

A steady finish to the first 45 minutes of play ended with a well-constructed series of passes in the midfield, finalized by a brilliant outside score from freshman Kyle Stiffney at the 40th minute-mark. Freshman Nick Good began the set by beating several defenders and sending the ball to junior Tony Janzen, who one-touched the ball to Stiffney for the overlap score.

“That was a big goal for us,” Mounsithiraj said. “Nick Good played really well for us coming off the bench as a rookie, and he started things in the middle. In the second half we continued to play hard and to play to win, knowing that a loss would keep us out of a championship.”

With field conditions deteriorating by the minute, it appeared that a 1-1 tie was imminent. Neither team could find its collective footing on the muddied turf, keeping possession alternating between the sides.

“By the early part of the second half, the field was getting very sloppy,” Mounsithiraj said. “Players were slipping all over the place and the quality of play from both sides was less to be desired.”

Adapting to its surroundings — perhaps by utter necessity — Goshen found the all-important go-ahead goal in the 67th minute, as Janzen received the ball just past midfield and began taking on three defenders en route to the Spring Arbor defensive third. With sophomore Cody Felton to his right, Janzen dribbled hard back to his left at the top of the penalty box and fired a low liner past the SAU keeper, giving the Leafs a 2-1 lead with just 23 minutes remaining.

“I thought we were in control after that,” Mounsithiraj said.

His team would have to survive one final scare.

With just six minutes remaining in regulation, a foul was called on Goshen while a Spring Arbor player was operating in the Leafs’ 18-yard box.

With a penalty kick looming, Mounsithiraj looked to the skies.

“I was thinking, ‘Here we go again, playing in another overtime,’” Mounsithiraj said. “I said to myself, ‘please Dutch, make another save for us.”

In last year’s regular-season finale, senior goalkeeper Craig “Dutch” Welscott came up with an enormous save on a PK to ensure a victory over the University of St. Francis.

With six minutes remaining on the game clock Tuesday afternoon at Spring Arbor, he didn’t have to.

Spring Arbor’s shooter sent a ball nearly 20 yards over the crossbar on the attempt, crediting Welscott with a penalty kick save minus the heroics.

“What a relief it was to see the ball sail over the goal,” Mounsithiraj said. “Yikes! That was too close for us.”

Mounsithiraj credited the play of Good and classmate Jordan Delp, as well as the defensive unit, for the needed win.

“Along with Nick Good, Jordan Delp played well coming off the bench,” Mounsithiraj said. “(Senior) Joel Miller continued to hold out the defensive team, with (senior) Adam Yoder solid as always. Adam is our quiet leader in the back, and again he went the distance for us.”

While the win and the Indiana Wesleyan – Bethel result was good enough to earn Goshen its second straight MCC Co-Championship, it wasn’t the perfect ending to the story. A Wesleyan – Bethel tie result would have given Goshen a co-championship with Bethel and an automatic qualification to NAIA Region VIII play by virtue of a tie-breaker with the Pilots. Since Indiana Wesleyan defeated Goshen on Oct. 18 (click here for article), the Wildcats obtain both the automatic bid to NAIA regional competition and the league’s number one seed in the MCC Tournament. Goshen, like last year, enters the post-season as the conference’s number two seed and will have to earn a trip to regional play.

“It has been a very good year for us and this team has worked as hard as anyone else in the conference,” Mounsithiraj said. “They deserve to enjoy this success and I am happy for our team, our institution and most of all our fans. We have the best fan support in the conference if not the state at the small college level. We thank them for their continued support.”

Fans will have an opportunity to watch Goshen in the first round of MCC Tournament play Saturday evening, when the team opens MCC Tournament competition — for the second straight season — with a home match against seventh-seeded St. Francis. Match time is set for 7 p.m. at the Goshen College Soccer Complex. Tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for students. The first 200 Goshen College students will be admitted free courtesy of the Goshen College Student Life department. Gates open at 6 p.m. Tickets will be available at the gate only.

A look at Goshen’s past MCC Championships, both outright and shared. . .