Raiders Win Streak at Four
| Published: 09/29/2012 |
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Wauwatosa, Wis. –The MSOE Raiders men’s soccer team is stringing together victories, like they string together passes. On Saturday afternoon at Hart Park in Wauwatosa, Wis. the Raiders, once again, dominated possession and ultimately the scoreboard, in a convincing 4-1 victory over the Wisconsin Lutheran Warriors. It was the team’s fourth consecutive victory. MSOE Coach Jimmy Banks is happy with the team’s progress. “We defended with a lot of tenacity, possessed the ball and counter attacked. It was a good showing, and the better news is, we can get a lot better.”
After several chances, junior captain Pat Gathof (Beloit, Wis. / Beloit Memorial H.S.) opened the scoring. Matt Braden (Lake Villa, Ill. / Lakes Community) surged down the right byline and whipped in a serve. Jordan Werner (Bolingbrook, Ill. / Montini Catholic) wisely dummied the ball on to Gathof, who neatly gathered the ball and knocked in his second goal of the season. Not long after that, Gathof rose to the occasion again, literally. Gathof elevated to meet a Logan Andryk (Hartland, Wis. / Marquette) corner kick, just outside the six yard box, and nodded it in with authority. The Raiders finished the half with a flurry of passes and chances, but the score remained 2-0.
Two minutes into the second half MSOE extended their lead. Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) leading scorer, Jordan Werner, received a Noah Corbeil-Wild (Minneapolis, Minn. / South High) pass and shimmied into the box for his 14th finish of the season. Corbeil-Wild and Werner have now connected for goals in three of the last four games.
15 minutes later the Warriors responded. They headed a well placed far post free kick across the box, and in a mad melee, nudged the ball into the goal. It was the type of scrappy finish that, so often, changes the momentum of a game. Today, though, the Raiders held their poise and re-established control. With the Warriors defending higher up the field than the first half, MSOE put more balls behind the Wisconsin Lutheran backline. The tactics paid off. MSOE continually found holes, but were struggling to convert a fourth goal. Finally, with 15 minutes remaining Drew Porter (Milwaukee, Wis. / Dominican) slotted a ball to Werner, who finished the exquisite pass in one touch. It was Werner’s eighth in the last three games.
Coach Banks see’s his team progressing and becoming more diverse. “Today, Pat got himself in the box and finished a pair of goals. Jordan continues his tear. We scored on a free kick, a counter-attack and, on the first goal, after about nine passes. That is great stuff that we need to build on.”
MSOE (8-3, 4-1) plays Maranatha Baptist College (5-6, 1-3) in another NAC match up this Tuesday, October 2nd, at 7:00 pm at Time Warner Cable Stadium in Milwaukee, Wis.
