Box Score Spring Arbor, Mich. -- The NAIA sixth-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University men?s soccer fell behind early but recovered in the second half to defeat Mid-Central College Conference foe Spring Arbor University 5-3.
The Wildcats (12-1-1, 5-0) allowed goals in the 8th and 17th minutes off of Spring Arbor set pieces.
?Spring Arbor was ready to play in the first half and made the most of their opportunities,? said IWU head coach Mark Castro. ?[You have to] credit our guys for coming back and Kyle [Joern] for boosting the team confidence in the second half with that critical early goal.?
After trailing 2-0 at halftime, freshman Kyle Joern netted an unassisted goal a mere 43 seconds into the second half. Two minutes later, junior Joel Trainer crossed the ball to junior Mason Bragg to tie the score at 2-2.
IWU took the lead in the 60th minute after Bragg played a through ball to freshman David Trainer. D. Trainer?s run forced the Spring Arbor goalkeeper off his line allowing D. Trainer to slot his shot past the goalkeeper and into the empty net.
Bragg scored what would prove to be the game-winning goal in the 70th minute off of a pass from J. Trainer. The Cougars scored in the 78th minute off of another set piece to make the score 4-3, but IWU responded in the next minute as Bragg completed his hat trick after receiving a through ball from senior J.P. Bratcher.
?It was weird at halftime [being down 2-0],? Bragg said, ?but we weren?t scared. We knew if we got one goal the floodgates would open.
?We came out, played composed and took advantage of the opportunities we had.?
The Wildcats are back in action Saturday, October 13, as they take on MCC rival Taylor University at home kicking off at 7:00 p.m.
