FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Doug Roorbach, Sports Information Director 585.567.9556

      Houghton College Men’s Soccer Team Wins 2-0

Houghton, NY—The Houghton College men’s soccer team got its first win of the season Saturday night at Burke Field, shutting out Bethel College (Mishawaka, In.) 2-0.

We had a much better performance tonight,” said Highlander Head Coach Matthew Webb, “In the first half we were a bit sloppy at times, but in the second half we were more dangerous and created opportunities.”

The statistics support that statement as Houghton had eight of its 11 shots (and two of its three shots on goal) in the second half.

However, the Highlanders first goal came near the end of the first half. Off a free kick from the right sideline, Josiah Snelgrove’s long cross skipped off the head of Justin Farnsworth to Aaron Martin, who nodded it across the mouth of the goal to Dan Brubaker. He headed it home at the 42:54 mark for a 1-0 Houghton lead.

Martin—who was a standout player at Fillmore Central School last year—received his first college point on the play, earning an assist for his header to Brubaker.

Midway through the second half Houghton used another set piece to double its lead. Off a corner kick by Kendal Stoltzfus, Tyler Haggerty collected a loose ball and drove around a defender in the right side of the penalty area. He sent a low, hard cross back from the end line and found Steve Grudda making a perfectly timed run in front of a defender to finish.

The Highlanders kept the offensive pressure on for the remainder of the game to collect their first win of the season and send their record to 1-0-2. It was the “0” in that set of numbers that Webb liked.

“We just played three very good teams [in the past week] and have yet to lose,” he said, “that says something about the quality of our play.”

The loss left Bethel College at 0-2-1.

The game was the second in as many nights for the Highlanders, who battled the University of Mobile (Ala.) Rams, ranked #24 in the NAIA, to a 1-1, double-OT draw Friday.

“We played an extra 20 minutes [on Friday]” said Houghton Assistant Coach Stephan Schilke, “I think our conditioning was a factor tonight.”

The game capped off the Highlander Classic Tournament, sponsored by Sports Locker of Olean. In the earlier game, the NAIA’s #4-ranked team, Rio Grande University, used a goal on a long floater just 29 seconds into the game to defeat the University of Mobile Rams, 2-1. Rio improved to 3-0-0 on the year, while UM dropped to 0-2-1.