(Box Score) Goshen, IN — Amidst all of the success the Goshen College men’s soccer program has attained in recent years, perhaps one of the team’s best qualities has been its ability to learn from its experiences.
And learn quickly, at that.
Just 48 hours after letting a 2-0 lead slip away in an eventual — and fortunate — 3-2, double-overtime win over the University of St. Francis (click here for related article), Goshen needed no such late-game heroics Monday, knocking off visiting Marian College 2-0 in semi-final play of the 2007 Mid-Central Conference Tournament.
The win pushed Goshen (11-6-2, 5-3) into its third MCC Tournament Championship appearance in the last four seasons, while Indiana Wesleyan University’s 2-1 win over Bethel College in the other league semi-final guaranteed the Leafs a second straight trip to NAIA Region VIII Championship play this weekend.
With Monday’s losing team facing the end of its season as a result, Goshen all but willed itself to the win, dominating possession from the outset and leaving little doubt — this time — about the result.
“After what happened Saturday night, and with not much time to prepare for tonight’s game, I was extremely pleased with how our guys performed,” said Tavi Mounsithiraj, Goshen head coach. “I thought we played with extremely high intensity from the opening tap and it was clear that we wanted this one. We got after it right from the start and we were able to keep pressure on Marian all night. We looked like a team that was not ready to finish its season tonight.”
Mounsithiraj’s team was able to open the scoring just 15 minutes into the action, when senior scoring machine Tony Janzen took a gorgeous lead pass from sophomore Jordan Delp to easily place a ball past Marian keeper Ben Weddle. The timing and placement of Delp’s assist was so perfect that Marian defenders began screaming for an offsides call, only to be denied by the near line judge.
“We had a great build up on our first score,” Mounsithiraj said. “We’ve been working a lot with our players up front on how we can better maintain spacing and help one another find chances. Jordan put a beauty of a pass right to Tony’s feet for an easy score.”
Janzen was at it again just 15 minutes later, this time taking a drop pass from classmate Nate Montiel and pushing a slow roller into the left corner of the net.
That score equaled the first in aesthetic beauty, as Janzen’s off-speed shot caught the entire Marian defense off guard. The score was Janzen’s 14th on the year coming in his third multiple-goal match of the season.
“Tony’s second goal was another example of our forwards playing off of each other and using space and deception to get a great look,” Mounsithiraj said. “Nate just laid the ball off to Tony and kept running full speed, so the defense just lost track of the ball. That was all Tony needed for his well-placed shot.”
With an early 2-0 lead in hand, Mounsithiraj began to have flashbacks of Saturday. Constant urging of his players to remain focused was met by a far better effort than that of the aforementioned St. Francis contest, as Goshen kept Marian at bay for the majority of the match.
Senior goalkeeper Brad Graber charted just two saves on the night, though one in the second half was large in nature. A misplayed ball in the Leafs’ backfield allowed the Knights’ Dallas Drew an open look at Goshen’s frame, but Graber dove hard to his left to thwart a high-velocity shot attempt.
“To be honest, I was almost worried (with a 2-0 lead) after what happened Saturday night,” Mounsithiraj said. “I didn’t have to say very much to the guys at halftime, because they knew exactly what I was thinking. Tonight, we did a very good job of handling Marian’s pressure and did not have any type of letdown.”
While the stats seemed fairly even — Goshen attempted 13 shots to Marian’s 12 and five shots on goal to the Knights’ four — possession was primarily handled by the Leafs throughout. Goshen attempted four corner kicks to Marian’s one and allowed just two true potential opportunities for the Knights to score: Graber’s save thwarting one and sophomore Kyle Stiffney racing in to block a point-blank shot in the other.
“That’s the thing about soccer, there really is no way to keep a stat for time of possession,” Mounsithiraj said. “But I thought we did a good job of taking care of the ball and creating chances for ourselves, especially with the personnel we had and on such little preparation time.”
With sophomore midfielder Scott Wilkinson serving a one-game suspension after collecting a red card against St. Francis, the situation was compounded by a late pre-game decision from junior midfielder David Shenk not to play. Wilkinson and Shenk’s absence — the latter sidelined by a pulled groin — pushed senior Peter Koontz and Delp into the midfield roles, while a triumphant full-game return from senior Matt Yoder shored up things in the backfield.
“Jordan, Matt, (sophomore) Nick Good and (sophomore) Luke Woodworth all did a really good job for us tonight,” Mounsithiraj said. “Again, our defensive team was outstanding picking up the shut out. You have to give credit to Brad Graber, Kyle Stiffney and (junior) Rusty Emery for their work tonight.”
As 13th-ranked and top-seeded Wesleyan defeated Bethel in the mirroring semi-final match, Wednesday’s MCC Tournament Championship was set: Goshen will travel to Indiana Wesleyan for a 7 p.m. title bout Wednesday night. Since Indiana Wesleyan won the regular-season conference crown, Goshen is guaranteed an appearance in NAIA regional play, as the MCC’s top two teams earn automatic bids.
A win over Wesleyan would have Goshen hosting Madonna University on Saturday evening, while an IWU win would place the Leafs at the winner of Tuesday’s Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Championship between Davenport University and Aquinas College.
For Mounsithiraj, that is getting ahead of himself.
“We deserved the win tonight and it gives us a chance to have another shot at IWU,” he said. “We got awfully close about a week ago (click here for article) and now we get another chance. I want to thank our super fans again for all of their support; they were awesome again tonight. Hopefully we can bring another game back here this weekend.”
Goshen College soccer will be hosting a “fan appreciation” breakfast immediately outside the Roman Gingerich Center on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. The Leafs will then travel to Marion for a 7 p.m. match with the Wildcats.
|
Sophomore Jordan Delp 
Watch video highlights from this game!