Men's
Soccer Team Battles Walsh to 1-1 Tie
Houghton,
N.Y.—The
Houghton College men’s soccer team tied Walsh University 1-1 after two
overtimes on Wednesday night at Burke Field. It was the third time this
season that the Houghton men had battled a tough opponent to a 1-1 tie.
“It was a
very good game,” said Matthew Webb, the Highlander’s head coach, “Both
teams played hard. Both goals were great goals.”
Walsh’s
goal came at the 27:00 mark when Aaron Davis uncorked a 30-yard screamer
into the upper right-hand corner, and that was all the scoring in the
first half.
The
Highlanders came out fast and hard to start the second half, pressing
Walsh into its own end and scoring just 8:25 in. Houghton native Aaron
Martin, a freshman starting for the first time in his college career,
got the goal when he made a flashing run onto an excellent cross from
Jonathan Brooks and headed it to the far side of the net. Brooks got the
assist.
“To come back was good,” Webb said, “Both goalkeepers
played well. Erik came up big in the overtime.”
Webb was referring to a point-blank reaction stop made by
the Highlander’s Erik Lefebvre (pictured) in the second overtime on a
dangerous opportunity from Walsh’s Lamar Skeeter. “[Skeeter] was a
handful,” Webb said, “He was tough to defend.”
It was one of six saves for Lefebvre. Walsh’s Ben Pflum
was even busier, stopping ten.
Webb also praised the Highlander’s Steve Grudda for his
excellent work on the ball throughout the game.“To come back was good,” said Webb of the tie, “After we
did, though, maybe we settled a little bit.”
Webb can’t complain too much. His team remains undefeated
after six games at 3-0-3. (Walsh is 4-2-1.) The Highlanders travel to
Rio Grande, Oh., for a tough game against the University of Rio Grande
on Saturday afternoon.
