MARION, Ind. - No. 15 Indiana Wesleyan Men's Soccer welcomed its fourth Top 25 opponent of the season and second Top 10 opponent in the last week when they faced the No. 8 University of Rio Grande (Ohio) on Saturday afternoon. It was a hard fought battle by both sides, but the Wildcats were able to come out on top with a 1-0 result.
IWU put up a flurry of shots in the opening four minutes, forcing two saves from the Rio Grande goalkeeper. They kept up the pressure for the majority of the first half highlighted by Yarek Carnegie putting two shots on goal midway through the period. However, the RedStorm were able to defend the pressure and halftime began with 0's on the scoreboard. The two top 15 opponents went toe-to-toe in the second half, but shot numbers still favored the Wildcats. Senior Kadin Wolfe made two key saves in the 67th and 72nd minutes to keep the match even. The offense eventually broke through in the 79th minute off a corner kick by Guzman Trigo that was scored by Mariano Chaves for his second straight game with a goal. IWU remained composed and prevented the tying goal from ever scoring the rest of the way. Wolfe picks up his 3rd win and shutout on the year. Indiana Wesleyan starts conference play this upcoming Wednesday at home against No. 20 Spring Arbor University.
THE ESSENTIALS
- Location: Marion, Ind. | IWU Soccer Field
- Records: IWU: 6-1-2 (0-0-0) | URG: 4-1-1 (0-0-0)
- NAIA Top 25 Poll: IWU - #15 | URG - #8
WHAT HAPPENED
- IWU outshot Rio Grande in the first half, 9-4, and forced 4 saves but went into halftime tied, 0-0.
- Kadin Wolfe made two saves that kept Rio Grande off the board in the middle of the second half.
- Mariano Chaves scored in his second match in a row off a Guzman Trigo corner kick to give the Wildccats the lead in the 79th minute.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- 19: The Wildcats outshot their opponent 19-9 with 6 landing on frame.
- 4: Mariano Chaves has scored 4 goals on the year, with two in the last two games.
- 3: Senior goalkeeper Kadin Wolfe records his 3rd win and shutout this year while maintaining a .67 goals allowed average on the year.
REEB PERSPECTIVE
- "It's always a tough battle when we get together with Rio," said head coach Matt Reeb. "They are a good team and pushed us today. But I'm proud of the boys for how they stayed together and fought for all 90 minutes. We celebrate and praise God for the blessing of victory, and we look forward to conference next week."
LOOKING FORWARD
- IWU kicks off conference play at home against no. 20 Spring Arbor University on Wednesday, September 23rd at 7:00 PM.
- Links for tickets, video, and stats are available at IWUWildcats.com.
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