Brian Morefield
This past weekend, the Illinois Wesleyan University Titan men’s soccer team ended their six-game road trip with a final stop in Kenosha, Wisconsin to play the Cardinals of Carthage College. Being a stoic rivalry, the Titans trained hard all week to be thoroughly prepared for the game.
This preparation wasn’t quite enough, as the Titans gave up a goal less than five minutes into the game, when a Carthage defender chipped a ball over the Titans defenders, leading to a break away goal that just skipped past senior goalkeeper Mark Streid.
The Titans remained in high press after they were scored on, but again, it did not bring anything to fruition. With fifteen minutes left to play in the first half, the Carthage Cardinals scored again off of a firecracker from 25 yards out, streaking past Streid again.
After talking it over at halftime, the Titans came out in the second half fired up and dominated most of the play. They had a few solid chances to score, but none of them made it into the back of the net. After ninety minutes, the game ended 2-0 in favor of the Cardinals.
“It was a tough loss, but we have a huge game coming on homecoming weekend. It will be our chance to upset someone and keep our hopes alive to make it into the tournament,” said senior captain Colin Rathe.
IWU men’s soccer will host a big game this Saturday, Oct. 18 against the eighth ranked Thunder of Wheaton College. “It is going to be a battle and we all are looking forward to playing in it.”