BOURBONNAIS, Ill. - No. 6 Men's Soccer traveled west to Olivet Nazarene University to take on the Tigers on Tuesday evening. The Wildcats came out pressing early with a shot within the first minute from Islam Houssni. The battle of the big cats was truly a physical fight, as there were 20 fouls called between the Tigers and Wildcats in the first half. In the 17th minute, pressure by IWU caused a turnover and an easy goal for Yarek Carnegie for his fifth of the season. After a scoreless rest of the period, the Wildcat offense came out of halftime the same as how they started the first half and registered 2 shots in the first 3 minutes. ONU kept themselves in the game after making a key save on a penalty kick in the 63rd minute and then scored an equalizing goal in the 69th minute. Now tied at 1-1, the Wildcat defense prevented the Tigers to take the lead by blocking back to back shots in the 77th minute. With exactly 8 minutes left in the match, Diego Palma sent a free kick to Islam Houssni who headed the ball past the goalie to give Indiana Wesleyan the lead once more. IWU stopped ONU from scoring again and came out with the 2-1 win
THE ESSENTIALS
- Location: Bourbonnais, Ind. | Snowbarger Athletic Complex
- Records: IWU: 4-2-1 | ONU: 4-2-1
- NAIA Top 25 Poll: IWU - #6 | ONU - Unranked
WHAT HAPPENED
- The Wildcats took the early 1-0 lead when Yarek Carnegie chipped a ball over the keeper's head after stealing a pass from the keeper in the 17th minute.
- The ONU keeper made a key save on a penalty kick by the Wildcats and scored a goal in the 69th minute to tie the match in the second half.
- Kadin Wolfe and the Wildcat defense made several crucial stops to keep the game tied.
- Sophomore Islam Houssni scored his first goal as a Wildcat on a header in the 82nd minute of play assisted by Diego Palma on a free kick to give IWU the 2-1 win.
KEY WILDCATS
Islam Houssni:
- 1 goal
- 3 shots, 2 landing on frame
Kadin Wolfe:
Yarek Carnegie:
- 1 goal
- 2 shots, 1 landing on frame
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- 4: Wolfe recorded 4 saves in goal to keep the Wildcats in the game.
- 1: IWU fired off 1 more shot than ONU, 12-11, and put 1 more shot on frame, 6-5, to win by 1 goal.
- 44: Both teams played a physical game as 44 fouls were called between the two opponents.
GOODIN PERSPECTIVE
- "It was a great team win, everyone was on the same page," said junior defender Sam Goodin. "Worked hard and that's what got us a result. Massive header from Islam to give us the go ahead goal."
LOOKING FORWARD
- IWU will face another ranked opponent in No. 23 Rio Grande (Ohio) on Saturday, September 20 at 7:00 PM.
- Links for video and stats are available at IWUWildcats.com.
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