UPDATE, 10/23/07: The Goshen College men’s soccer team will host the University of St. Francis in first-round action of the upcoming Mid-Central Conference Tournament, the school announced Tuesday evening.
Regular-season standings were finalized following Bethel College’s 2-1 defeat of Huntington University Tuesday night in Mishawaka. The win moved Bethel (4-2-2 in MCC competiton) into the number five seed for the upcoming league tourney, while St. Francis (4-4) settled into the six slot.
With Goshen holding the number three seed, the Leafs will now host St. Francis for a 7 p.m. match this Saturday at the Goshen College Soccer Complex.
Goshen dropped a 3-1 loss to USF in Fort Wayne on Sept. 26 (click here for related article). The squads also have a steep history in recent post-seasons, meeting in each of the last three MCC Tournaments.
Goshen head coach Tavi Mounsithiraj was not immediately available for comment following the revelation of the Leafs’ upcoming tournament match-up. Check back to this site for additional details as game time nears.
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(Box Score) Goshen, IN — Perspective was the word of the hour Saturday night at the Goshen College Soccer Complex, as the Goshen College men’ soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to sixth-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University.
The loss was a downer for multitudinous reasons, as Goshen (9-6-2, 5-3) missed out on its third consecutive Mid-Central Conference Championship and an automatic berth to NAIA regional competition as a result of the defeat. The program’s senior night — offering a formal tribute to elder statesmen Jon Casselberry-Scott, Brad Graber, Benji Graber, Joel Gonzalez, Tony Janzen, Pete Koontz, Nate Montiel and Matt Yoder — also suffered a salty finish, giving a boisterous throng of over 1,500 fans and spectators no chance to rush the field in post-game pandemonium.
Still, there was a chance to play again. Goshen now finishes its regular-season slate as the league’s third-seeded team and will host an opponent (yet to be determined) in the first round of the MCC Tournament next Saturday night.
It was that perspective that kept Leafs’ head coach Tavi Mounsithiraj upbeat long after the final whistle had blown.
“This was a very tough defeat for us, without question,” Mounsithiraj said. “I thought we played well enough to get this important win, but tonight was not our night. We live to play another day, though, and that’s our focus now. Getting on to play another day.”
It seemed as if the program’s third straight regular-season MCC crown was in plain reach early on Saturday, as a flurry of activity in front of Indiana Wesleyan’s goal was met with a tremendous defensive effort.
Sophomore Scott Wilkinson sent a cross to Janzen midway through the first half, and Janzen pushed a shot to the far post. Wesleyan keeper Spenser Lang was there to deflect the ball away, only for junior Cody Felton to extend horizontally for a header back into the Wildcats’ frame.
With the crowd rising as one in anticipation, another Wesleyan defender slid into the goal mouth to stop Felton’s attempt, only for the ball to land at Wilkinson’s feet.
A shot from Wilkinson surely would have gone in, had it not been for a third Wesleyan defender racing in to deflect the ball out of harm’s way.
That entire exchange took all of four seconds to occur, left six players lying on the turf and the entire Goshen College Soccer Complex fan base exasperated.
“That really was our golden opportunity,” Mounsithiraj said. “The ball was cleared off the goal line three times in a matter of seconds. Incredible.”
Wesleyan would eventually begin to control much of the possession following that series, taking a total five corner kicks to Goshen’s one and generally playing on the Leafs’ half of the field for the majority. With just 15 minutes left in the first half the Wildcats would get the break they needed, as an IWU forward was fouled just steps outside the center of Goshen’s 18-yard box.
With a six-man defensive wall in place, Wesleyan’s David Lopez-Cepero sent a gorgeous, knuckling ball into the upper right corner of the net, giving the visitors a 1-0 lead and partaking in a subsequent, hush-hush gesture to the Leafs’ faithful.
It would be the first goal scored on Brad Graber in four games in goal.
“I was very pleased with how we performed and yes, we would have loved to have a better result but give credit to IWU,” Mounsithiraj said. “They did what they had to do to get the win here.”
Mounsithiraj’s team pressed hard in the second period for an equalizer goal, but could not capitalize. A pair of Janzen run outs were negated by a stifling, two-man defense while Felton had a shot that caromed off the cross bar with just over 20 minutes remaining.
As the game wound down, most of the talk in the stands centered around Wesleyan’s defensive effort, as the Wildcats were able to repeatedly clear balls before they became dangerous.
“I was really pleased with the play of Tony Janzen,” Mounsithiraj said. “He worked hard all night trying to make things happen for us. (Sophomore) Nick Good also had a very good game for us playing in the midfield position. In the back (sophomore) Kyle Stiffney and (junior) Rusty Emery played a nice game. Really, I am happy for all the seniors. They have all played roles in our success in the last four years here, and they will leave as one of the most winning classes in program history."
Mounsithiraj’s seniors have accrued 52 wins thus far, tying last year’s seniors’ win total and standing just two wins away from equaling the program-record mark of 54 career victories.
Goshen must now wait to learn of its first-round opponent in the upcoming MCC Tournament, though this much is certain: The Leafs will play a team it lost to during the regular season. The tournament’s three seed, Goshen will host either the University of St. Francis or Bethel College, pending the results of Tuesday’s Bethel-Huntington University match in Mishawaka. A Bethel loss or tie would pit Goshen against its archrivals from Mishawaka; a Pilots’ win would have St. Francis visiting the Goshen Soccer Complex.
Either way, Goshen will host the first-round contest Saturday at 7 p.m. Updates to the identity of the Leafs' opponent will be made to this site as soon as they are known.
“We’ll prepare as best we can for both teams,” Mounsithiraj said. “Either way, it will be a tough match. We’re thankful for the opportunity to play in front of our great fans again.”
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Sophomore Nick Good