(Box Score) Springfield, IL — The Goshen College men’s soccer program has had plenty of special moments in recent history, as winning games, capturing awards and setting records have become a part of the Leafs’ fabric over the past three seasons.
Wednesday night was not one of those types of moments.
Goshen (0-2-1, 0-0) dropped a 0-1 decision to the University of Illinois-Springfield Wednesday night, continuing to search for its first win of the 2007 season while dropping its second straight contest. As no surprise, the 16th-ranked Leafs fell from the NAIA’s Pre-season Top 25 Poll — an announcement that also came Wednesday (click here for the latest NAIA Top 25 Poll).
It is worth mentioning that last season’s 15-5-4, Mid-Central Conference Co-Champion and NAIA National Championships-bound squad opened the season by losing its first three contests of the season. With heightened expectations, however, the Leafs’ current start is not what seventh-year head coach Tavi Mounsithiraj had in mind.
“It is really the same story again,” Mounsithiraj said following Wednesday night’s loss. “I thought we played well enough to get a win or maybe a tie but that did not happen. It was a tough night for us traveling five hours to play against a very good UIS side, a traditional NAIA powerhouse who will surely make the jump to NCAA Division II in another year or two. Still, I thought we were ready to play.”
Arriving at the Illinois-Springfield complex just 20 minutes before kick off, Goshen looked the part of the nation’s 16th-best team early. After thwarting an early Prairie Stars’ push up front, senior Tony Janzen got loose for a pair of shots midway through the first half, only to miss the frame by a narrow margin.
The teams traded possession and looks until just five minutes remained before the halftime buzzer, as Illinois-Springfield’s Jakub Piotrowski took a pass from Scott Bringuet and drilled home the match’s only goal at the 40th-minute mark.
“I thought the goal we gave up could have been avoided,” Mounsithiraj said. “That has been the story for us in each of the first three matches.”
Needing an equalizer, Goshen turned up the pressure in the second period. After being out shot by an eight to four count in the match’s first 45 minutes, Mounsithiraj’s squad turned the tables in the second, putting up seven shots to the Prairie Stars’ five. It would not matter, however, as Goshen would not break the scoring plane.
Illinois-Springfield put up a strong defensive front throughout the match, as evidenced by Goshen only attempting a solitary corner kick (Illinois-Springfield took five on the evening). Janzen and junior Cody Felton were each responsible for one half of the Leafs’ total shots on goal (two) for the evening.
“UIS came up with some big defensive saves and the evening was sort of summed up for us when one of Janzen’s shots screamed along the goal line, hit the post and then hit the other post before bouncing away safely,” Mounsithiraj said. “I was pleased with how hard we played. (Sophomore) Luke Woodworth, (junior) Garet Osterloo and (sophomore) Nick Good are playing well for us. Tony continues to be a force up front. We will continue to learn, one way or the other, as the season goes on.”
Goshen will next participate in the Tri-State University Ketner Classic over the weekend, taking on Otterbein College on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Heidelberg College Sunday at 12 p.m.
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Junior Garet Osterloo