Three Leafs Score In ‘Gritty’ Win Over Roosevelt

Aeschliman matches combined career scoring total of dad, brother
GOSHEN, Ind. — Stuart Aeschliman struck again, firing a free kick into the net for his second goal of 2017, and the Goshen College men’s soccer team posted its second straight clean sheet Saturday in a 3-0 win over Roosevelt University at the John Ingold Athletic Complex.
After Aeschliman opened the scoring in the 26th minute, Ollie Smith added a goal and an assist in the second half. Nate Nussbaum contributed his first goal since September 2016 in the closing minutes as Goshen moved to 2-1 this fall.
“Roosevelt is a very good team that is very good in transition and looks to hurt you on the counter,” Goshen coach Arron Patrick said. “We adjusted our shape a little during the first half to allow us to be more dominant in the middle of the pitch and counterattack them in the wide areas. The guys did a great job of picking off balls in the middle and playing early balls into our forward players. From there we had a ton of success running at their fullbacks. It paid off with numerous chances in both halves.”
The first quarter of the match was marked more by fouls than shots: at the midpoint of the opening period, Goshen had three of the former and two of the latter. Aeschliman’s first attempt of the day was saved in the 24th minute before his strike two minutes later found nylon.
Roosevelt (1-2) countered with a pair of shots in the 34th minute, but Johan Escalante came up with two of his seven saves to keep the match 1-0. Brodie Nofziger put three tries on frame in the half’s closing minutes: two were saved and the other was “on frame” in a very literal sense, as Nofziger’s shot got past the goalkeeper and struck the crossbar before being headed off the line.
Smith’s goal 17:15 after halftime, a near-post finish off a cross from right back Ethan Francois-Ravalier, opened the 2017 scoring account of the Leafs’ 2016 scoring leader. The assist was the second of Francois-Ravalier’s season, matching the highest of any GC player a season ago.
Despite the insurance goal for Goshen, Roosevelt’s share of possession increased late in the match as the Maple Leafs went more than 10 minutes without a shot at one point. The Lakers didn’t do much better, though, with just two attempts and a pair of corner kicks over the final half-hour.
A corner kick would lead to Goshen’s final score with 3:57 left. Smith played a corner short and on the ground to Nussbaum, who sprinted right from his central midfield spot to meet the ball near the corner of the penalty area and scored to the right of a diving netminder.
“Our goals today were all different, but all great in their own right,” Patrick said. “Stuart’s goal was a sensational free kick, Ollie’s goal was great team build-up play and great movement, and Nate’s was just intelligent play from the guys well executed.”
While Goshen took 14 shots in the contest, including three each by Aeschliman and Nofziger, the match was also the team’s most physical so far this year. A pair of players were booked and Goshen committed a season-high 12 fouls, which was still three fewer than Roosevelt.
“Today’s game was very different than Wednesday,” Patrick said. “Wednesday was about having lots of possession, patient build-up play, and breaking a team down over time. Today was about grit, stubbornness, and being very good in transition. Now we need to do a good job recovering tonight and tomorrow.”
“We are showing that we can win in different ways, keep clean sheets, and score different types of goals,” the coach continued. “We are a long way from where we want to be, but beating a team that is consistently towards the top of its conference in convincing style will only give our guys more confidence.”
Goshen returns to action in less than 48 hours with a match at Holy Cross College in South Bend at 4 p.m. Monday.
Holy Cross edged Bethel 1-0 on Saturday in Indianapolis, dealing the Pilots their first loss of the season. Roosevelt plays host to the Pilots in Chicagoland on Monday as well, making the weekend a de facto four-game classic between two Crossroads League schools and their Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference foes.
“Monday will provide a different type of test—Holy Cross will be very good physically, and a team that knows how to win,” Patrick said. “We will really have to play well to get a result at their place. This game will allow us to show our strength in depth and that we can bounce back physically in a short period of time.”
Following Monday’s visit to St. Joseph County, Goshen takes up residency at the John Ingold Athletic Complex for two weeks with a four-match homestand which includes three doubleheaders with the women’s team.
Goshen College is an affordable, nationally-ranked Christian liberal arts college in Northern Indiana known for leadership in intercultural and international education, sustainability and social justice.
The Maple Leafs compete in 13 varsity sports in the NAIA’s highly competitive Crossroads League, continuing a tradition of intercollegiate athletics that dates to 1956 and included women’s competition nearly a decade before Title IX. For more information on GC athletics, visit www.GoLeafs.net and follow the Maple Leafs on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @GCMapleLeafs.