Goshen, IN — For junior forward Tony Janzen, the wait was all too long.

Perhaps that was why he made his first score of 2006 such a memorable one.

After going scoreless in Goshen’s first five games of the season, Janzen made sure his slump would not continue Tuesday evening, tagging the lone goal in Goshen’s 1-0 win over visiting University of Illinois-Springfield in majestic style. After scoring a team-leading 14 goals in 2005 — including seven in the team’s first five games last year — Janzen had to wait all but nine minutes Tuesday night for what head coach Tavi Mounsithiraj hopes is his break-out performance.

“That was the goal he had been searching for and what a beauty it was,” Mounsithiraj said. “He had been struggling with his scoring touch as of late.”

Janzen erased a scoreless tie for Goshen (3-3, 0-0) with 36 minutes remaining in Tuesday’s first half, though the action was heated from the outset with the visiting Prairie Stars. Though Illinois-Springfield did not score in the match — senior goalkeeper Craig Welscott charted five saves and acquired his second shut-out of the young season — it had a few golden looks in the contest’s first few minutes, giving Mounsithiraj and the Leafs’ fan base heightened pulses.

Just three minutes into play Illinois-Springfield looked to have a bead on a goal when Welscott raced out of the goal mouth to track down a long pass sent from a Prairie Star midfielder. An Illinois-Springfield forward arrived to the ball just as Welscott did, prying the ball away from Goshen’s sliding keeper and attempting to collect it with an open goal ahead.

Fortunately for Goshen, senior two-time Mid-Central Conference Defensive Player of the Year Joel Miller was there to pick up the unguarded threat, thwarting what was Illinois-Springfield’s best opportunity at a score. Miller also made a pair of brilliant pirouettes chasing down would-be lead passes from UIS early on, again taking out all scoring opportunities for the visitors.

Perhaps Miller’s greatest play came with nine minutes elapsed in the contest, however, as the lanky defender placed an absolutely perfect pass at the feet of Janzen, who was streaking down the right side of the field. As Janzen touched the ball three times, an approaching defender forced him to take his shot earlier than what he would have liked.

From nearly 30 yards out at a 45-degree from the right wing, Janzen blasted a shot that defied physics.

Firing a rainbow with extreme top-spin, Janzen’s boot placed the ball a good 25 feet in the air, hanging it for what seemed like an eternity. As the Illinois-Springfield keeper backpedaled to make a save, the ball somehow arched into the upper left corner of the net, sending the crowd — and Janzen himself — into a frenzy.

“We practice shots like that every day, and Tony placed a perfect ball while fighting off a defender on his back,” Mounsithiraj said. “It was one of the more artistic goals that I’ve ever seen.”

Riding Janzen’s emotional score, Mounsithiraj leaned on his backfield of Miller, Welscott, senior Adam Yoder, senior Jared Price and sophomore Rusty Emery. That group kept Illinois-Springfield vastly at bay for the remainder of the match.

“With a one goal lead that would be plenty for us to win this match,” Mounsithiraj said. “I was pleased with the way our defensive team handled themselves. Overall this was a team effort, as this was such a good result for us beating a team like Illinois-Springfield.”

Goshen will next take a travel weekend to Virginia for a pair of matches, beginning first with a clash against sister-institution Eastern Mennonite University on Saturday. Due to a late change, that game time is slated to begin at 6 p.m. EST (it had originally been scheduled for 7 p.m.). The Leafs will then face Bridgewater College at EMU Sunday afternoon. That match time is set for 2 p.m.