MARION, Ind. - After a close match on Wednesday against Huntington University, No. 15 Indiana Wesleyan men's soccer fell short with a final score of 4-3. The Wildcats took 1-0 first half lead with sophomore Brandon Nyagurungo's sixteenth goal of the season. IWU scored again in the second half after a shot outside the box by senior Giuseppe Santacroce, doubling their lead and senior Jose Garcia's assist count for the day. After a penalty kick in the 54th minute and two goals in the 61st minute for Huntington, the back-and-forth battle began with a equalizer through traffic by Roberto Sanchez in the 79th minute. A final goal from Huntington in the 86th minute led to the Wildcats' first conference loss of the season. After the result, IWU stays in third place in the Crossroads League standings with one games left to play on Saturday.

 

THE ESSENTIALS

• Location: Marion, Ind. | IWU Soccer Field
• Records: IWU: 12-2-3 | HU: 7-7-4
• NAIA Top-25 Ranking: IWU - #15 | HU - Unranked

WHAT HAPPENED

• Brandon Nyagurungo found the right side of the net for his 16th goal of the season, after a through ball into the box from senior Jose Garcia in the 31st minute.
• Jose Garcia dribbled well through a defender to find Giuseppe Santacroce for a bottom-left slot in the 48th minute to open the second half.
• After three Huntington goals to take the lead 3-2, Roberto Sanchez found the back of the net in the 79th minute, throwing the goalkeeper off with a ground shot in traffic.
• HU took the lead in the 86th minute with Sam Dolobaipu's third goal of the night.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 12: IWU had 12 corner kicks on the day compared to Huntington's 1.
• 6: Six cards were issued to IWU with just two going to HU
• 2: Two assists on the day for Jose Garcia to increase his total to 14 on the season (28 points). 

LOOKING FORWARD

• IWU concludes their regular season on Saturday as they face Spring Arbor at 7:00 p.m.
• Links for tickets, video, and stats will be available at IWUWildcats.com.

FOLLOW THE WILDCATS

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