(Box Score) Goshen, IN — It was business as usual Saturday night at the Goshen College Soccer Complex, as Goshen handed Mid-Central Conference rival Grace College a 2-0 defeat in league play.
The win was one of utter necessity for Goshen (8-5-2, 4-2), as with the victory the team remained tied for second place in the MCC, two games behind leader Indiana Wesleyan University and just a half game ahead of surging Spring Arbor University.
With the MCC Tournament just two weeks away — and every game having direct implications on seeding — Goshen head coach Tavi Mounsithiraj knew his team needed to come away with a win Saturday over the slumping Lancers, losers of seven straight.
“This was another great result for us, getting this all-important conference win,” Mounsithiraj said. “I knew coming into this match that Grace would come in here and play their hearts out. I have so much respect for Grace’s coaching staff for getting their team so ready to play. They make it tough on you every time out.”
It was obvious that Grace’s goal was to make it tough on senior and MCC second-leading goal scorer Tony Janzen from the outset, as the Lancers shadowed Janzen’s every move — at times defending the forward with multiple players.
With Janzen occupying much of the attention, the Leafs dialed up a score just 21 minutes into play, as junior David Shenk out-dribbled several defenders to blast his first goal of the season at the game’s 21:01 mark.
“Once we were able to get Tony the ball, it really opened things up for us,” Mounsithiraj said of Grace’s all-out efforts defensively. “I know that we have other players that can make plays for us, and our guys did just that. We did a great job of moving the ball around and keeping most of the possession throughout the game, and David’s goal gave us a 1-0 lead going into the second half. We had so many opportunities to add to our lead, but Grace’s goalkeeper came up with some key saves to keep the match close.”
The Lancers’ Collin Grotbeck finished with six saves on the night, while Goshen continued to own the ball on Grace’s half of the field throughout. Mounsithiraj’s team finished with an 18 to seven advantage in total shots and a nine to five lead in shots on goal, taking eight corner kicks to Grace’s three.
Those numbers played out to a relatively stress-free night for senior Brad Graber in goal, as the defender-turned-keeper finished with five saves on the night. Graber is now 2-0 in goal for his career, posting two shutouts in the process (Graber’s first start was against Moody Bible Institute on Tuesday; click here for related article).
“Brad played a pretty good game in goal and I was pleased with his second shutout performance,” Mounsithiraj said. “He came up with a couple of key saves for us.”
Goshen continued its attack through the final horn, as junior Brennan Troyer carded his second goal of the year off a penalty kick at the 83:28 mark. After taking a pass from senior Nate Montiel, Troyer was fouled inside the box before he could do anything with the ball, resulting in the PK. Troyer calmly placed the ball past Grotbeck, who guessed the opposite direction that Troyer kicked.
“Grace played some really good defensive soccer tonight,” Mounsithiraj said.
Four yellow cards tattered an otherwise solid game of soccer, as three of the cards were issued to Lancers. Grace also held a greater number in total fouls, carding 19 infractions to Goshen’s 13 for the game.
“Overall I thought we could do a better job staying focused and not turning the ball over as much as we did, but I am happy with the win,” Mounsithiraj said. “We still have a lot of work to do and have plenty of room to improve. Our defensive team of (sophomore) Kyle Stiffney, David Shenk, (junior) Rusty Emery and (junior) Ben Martin all did a nice job in helping get the shutout. Tony Janzen was also tough all night despite being a marked man. He was still very dangerous without the ball with his hard running. With Grace paying so much attention to him that gave us much more open space.”
Goshen will next face-off in another big MCC match, as the team will travel to Huntington University on Tuesday. Match time is set for 3:30 p.m. That start time is one half hour earlier than originally posted.
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Senior Brad Graber