INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- The Indiana Wesleyan University men's soccer team opened up play in the Mid-Central College Conference by dropping a tight match at Marian (Ind.) University, 2-1.

Marian would open the scoring on the night when freshman forward Renauld Sicard took a cross from freshman midfielder Blake Horvath and found the back of the net.

Senior midfielder Austin Bock tied the game for IWU with a goal in the 37th minute. Bock dropped a header to senior forward Kyle Joern who neatly returned a pass to the streaking midfielder on the right side of the penalty box. Bock then floated a chip shot that landed just inside the left post to even the score.

However, the Knights would answer with the eventual game winner in the 44th minute. As the clock wound down in the first half, a mad scramble for possession led to Marian sophomore midfielder Grant Brackin knocking the loose ball into the net as the horn sounded to end the opening half.

IWU freshman goalkeeper Dylan McCauley made several excellent saves in the first half to erase scoring chances for Marian and the Wildcat defense prevented any more damage in the second half by not allowing a single shot on goal.

The Wildcats held an 11-5 advantage in shots and controlled possession for most of the second half, but were unable to capitalize on any scoring opportunities.

"This was a disappointing loss to open MCC play with," said IWU head coach Mark Castro. "We are still trying to figure out the character of this team. These next few games will show us what we are really made of."

Indiana Wesleyan falls to 2-6-1 (0-1-0 MCC) while Marian improves to 6-2-1 (1-0-0 MCC).

The Wildcats will play host to Huntington (Ind.) University in a MCC match at 7 p.m. on Saturday, September 25 at Wildcat Field.

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