Upland, IN — As dominant as the play of the Goshen College men’s soccer team was on Saturday at Mid-Central Conference rival Taylor University, those closely associated with the program had thoughts elsewhere as soon as the Leafs’ 2-0 win over the Trojans was in the books.

After all, the calendar has been marked for quite some time.

Goshen (8-4, 2-0) added to its undefeated MCC play with a convincing 2-0 win at Taylor Saturday, setting up perhaps the biggest game of the season next week. Nationally ranked Bethel College visits the Goshen College Soccer Complex Wednesday, bringing a rematch between the 2005 MCC Co-Champions and serving as the only team to beat Goshen in all of last season.

Goshen head coach Tavi Mounsithiraj didn’t need a reminder of the upcoming schedule following Saturday’s result.

“We are playing good soccer right now, but we need to be better yet if we want to compete with a team like BC,” he said. “We have our work cut out for us, but we are excited for the opportunity to play such a team.”

The Leafs still had to knock off Taylor on Saturday to set up a clash of the league’s unbeatens later in the week, and Mounsithiraj’s squad made quick work of that task. A dominating performance was highlighted by a pair of first-half goals from junior Tony Janzen — his first multiple-goal match of the season — pitting Taylor to a serious uphill climb against one of the best defenses in the MCC.

“This was a very important win for us playing away from Goshen,” Mounsithiraj said. “Taylor is a good team and I was not quite sure how we would respond to the test. We came out with a lot of energy and put pressure on them right away.”

Janzen scored his first goal just three minutes into the match after receiving a nice pass from sophomore midfielder Garet Osterloo and firing an absolute rocket toward the Trojan’s goalkeeper. And while the ball was struck directly at the keeper, it’s velocity proved to be too much, ricocheting off the goalie’s arms and spinning up and over his head.

“Tony hit a very solid ball from about 25 yards out,” Mounsithiraj said. “The ball still had spin on it when it hit the back of the net.”

Janzen was at it again just minutes later, when senior Jared Price sent a long ball up the field at the 30th-minute mark. Goshen’s leading scorer chased down the ball, outhustled two defenders and placed a sweet tap-in past the TU keeper for a 2-0 lead with 15 minutes remaining in the first half.

With senior and MCC MVP candidate Joel Miller anchoring a stoic defensive unit, the match was over for all intents and purposes.

“With a two goal lead in the second half, I told the guys to keep putting pressure on Taylor’s side and that we could not let down,” Mounsithiraj said. “The defensive team again rose to the challenge and did a great job of keeping Taylor from having any chance at a goal. Our offensive team also did a great job keeping possession of the ball and away from the TU side.”

Goshen charted 12 shots on goal to Taylor’s six, and converted seven corner kicks to the Trojans’ two. Taylor did have a point-blank look at the Goshen net midway through the second period, but senior Craig Welscott came up with a patented save to preserve the team’s sixth shut out of the season.

“Joel Miller, Jared Price, (senior) Adam Yoder and (sophomore) Rusty Emery once again were fabulous,” Mounsithiraj said. “I was pleased with Garet Osterloo, (freshman) Nick Good and (sophomore) David Shenk. They did a fine job controlling the field of play and creating chances for others.”

Goshen now takes a few days to prep for the much-anticipated Bethel showdown, as the match will be carried live on 91.1 FM The Globe and via webcast at www.globeradio.org. Match time is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Goshen College Soccer Complex.