UPLAND, Ind. - No. 15 Indiana Wesleyan Men's Soccer took the 20-minute drive over to Taylor University for the second Crossroads League match of the year on Saturday evening. The Wildcats went down 1-0 in the first half but pounced on the Trojans in the second half, scoring a trio of goals to win.
Taylor controlled the match in the first half and put IWU on their heels after scoring in the 20th minute of play. Despite the momentum for Taylor, Indiana Wesleyan outshot them 4-3 but remained down. The script was flipped in the second half however with IWU putting all the pressure on their opponent. Two goals were called back for the Wildcats before they finally broke through in the 77th minute when Jose Garcia got one past the goalkeeper. The floodgates opened after that. Two minutes later, Yarek Carnegie gave IWU the lead and less than four minutes after that, Carnegie scored once more assisted by Garcia. The Wildcats host Grace on Wednesday at 7:00 PM.
THE ESSENTIALS
- Location: Upland, Ind. | Turner Stadium
- Records: IWU: 8-1-2 (2-0-0) | TU: 6-3-2 (0-2-0)
- NAIA Top 25 Poll: IWU - #15 | TU - Unranked
WHAT HAPPENED
- Taylor struck first in the 20th minute for the lone goal of the first half.
- Jose Garcia scored his 4th goal of the year in the 77th minute to equalize the score.
- The Wildcats took the lead in the 79th minute when Yarek Carnegie found the back of the net.
- Carnegie scored again in the 83rd minute, this time assisted by Garcia.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- 8: Yarek Carnegie's 2 goals now give him 8 on the season.
- 4: Both Carnegie and Garcia got up 4 shots in the match.
- 40: Jose Garcia collected his 40th career assist on Carnegie's second goal.
GARCIA PERSPECTIVE
- "Playing Taylor is always special because of the rivalry, and the atmosphere at their field with a full crowd made the game even more intense," said Jose Garcia. "We were behind for most of the game, but I think we showed a lot of character, composure, and belief in ourselves. Even when things were not going our way, we stayed together, kept pushing, and trusted that we could turn the game around. I'm really happy I was able to help the team in an important moment, but overall I think this game says a lot about our mentality as a group."
LOOKING FORWARD
- IWU will play Grace College on Wednesday, September 30th at 7:00 PM in Marion.
- Links for tickets, video, and stats are available at IWUWildcats.com.
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