MARION, Ind. - No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan Men's Soccer battled Taylor University at home on Saturday evening. The first half began with IWu gaining an early advantage. Mariano Chaves opened the scoring with a goal in the 14th minute, assisted by Guzman Trigo and Taha Houssni, marking his third goal of the season. The Wildcats maintained control by taking 3 corner kicks to Taylor's none. IWU maintained the lead throughout the half, entering halftime ahead 1-0. The second half was highlighted by two more goals for the Wildcats. Junior Sam Goodin scored his first collegiate goal on a transition play. Goodin got by the defense and passed to Kai Haskell who returned the ball just past the keeper and Goodin was able to punch it in with no resistance. Shortly thereafter, Eliass Elfasoukhi capitalized on the momentum with another goal in the 63rd minute, increasing the advantage to 3-0. Despite Taylor's attempts to respond, the Wildcat defense held strong as Kadin Wolfe recorded two saves on the only shots on frame from the Trojans. The half closed with Indiana Wesleyan securing their 3-0 lead, effectively controlling the match and keeping Taylor off the scoreboard by the final whistle.



THE ESSENTIALS

• Location: Marion, Ind. | IWU Soccer Field
• Records: IWU: 6-2-2 (1-0-1) | TU: 6-2-1 (0-1-1)
• NAIA Top 25 Poll: IWU - #11 | TU - Unranked

WHAT HAPPENED

• Freshman Mariano Chaves gave IWU the early lead in the first half after an assist from Guzman Trigo.
• The Wildcats extended the lead to 2-0 in the 57th minute when Kai Haskell assisted Sam Goodin.
• Eliass Elfasoukhi added to the goal total in the 63rd minute after a rebound from another shot came to him and he snuck it past the keeper.
• Kadin Wolfe made both of his saves in the second half on the only shots on frame.

KEY WILDCATS

• Mariano Chaves:
  • 1 goal
  • 1 shot
• Sam Goodin:
  • 1 goal
  • First career goal
• Eliass Elfasoukhi:
  • 1 goal
  • 1 shot

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 3: Mariano Chaves has now recorded a goal in 3 straight matches.
• 2: It was the second clean sheet for Kadin Wolfe and the Wildcats this season.
• 1: IWU only got off 1 more shot than Taylor but scored 3 more goals. 

• "Good game overall," said goalkeeper Kadin Wolfe. "It was definitely a hard-working win and it was a great game from the defense to get the shutout."

LOOKING FORWARD

• IWU takes on Grace College on October 1st in Winona Lake starting at 8:00 PM.
• Links for video and stats are available at IWUWildcats.com.

FOLLOW THE WILDCATS

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