Trojans Battle to Win on Senior Night
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UPLAND, Ind. – While most fans were finding their seats, the Taylor men’s soccer team captured an early 1-0 lead and held on to defeat Saint Francis on Saturday on senior night.
In the opening 30 seconds of the match, senior Andrew Johnson sent the ball sailing near the net and classmate, Jeremiah Rader, went to make a play on the ball while a Cougar (4-7-3, 1-3-2 CL) defender came up from behind and kicked the ball into the net for an own-goal and gave the Trojans (5-7-1, 2-3-1 CL) the lead.
After scoring so early into the match, TU went the next 89 minutes holding St. Francis scoreless and now has three-straight shutouts, all against league opponents.
To keep the visitors off of the scoreboard, TU’s backline of Charbel Salako, Michael Maloney and Alex Gallup kept the Cougar attack at bay and allowed only three of their 11 shot attempts be on-frame. Luke Williams had three saves and now has 53 for the year, with a 5-5-1 record.
The Trojans missed a couple opportunities to increase their slim lead. In his 60th-career start, Rader launched a missile towards the net and had it go above the crossbar from 20 yards out and finished with a team-high of four shots. Peter Linn looked for his first goal of the season in the 76th minute, but St. Francis’ goalkeeper made a diving save. TU had 11 shot attempts as a unit and now has 10-or-more shot attempts in nine matches this season.
Before the match started, Taylor’s six seniors, Juan Alberghetti, Paul Egenolf, Drew Sezonov, Johnson, Rader and Salako, were all recognized for their achievements and contributions to the program.
The Trojans tallied three more points in the league standings after the win and now have seven, tied for fourth.
The Purple and Gold visit Indiana Wesleyan (8-5-1, 2-3-1 CL) on Wednesday for a 7:00 p.m. contest.