Second-half spurt gets Maple Leafs in CL win column
Aeschliman sets up PK, adds free-kick score in 136-second span
GOSHEN, Ind. — All of the scoring happened in 14 minutes, but the Goshen College men’s soccer team got credit for the entire win in a 3-1 victory over Taylor University on Wednesday at the John Ingold Athletic Complex.
Jimmelle Ramkissoon, Stuart Aeschliman and Lucas Bontreger scored for the Maple Leafs (6-5-1, 1-1-1 Crossroads League, who got back in the win column for the first time since September 15 and posted their first Crossroads League win of the year.
Neither team was able to solve the opposing defense in the opening 45 minutes, leading to a scoreless deadlock at the intermission.
Goshen had perhaps the most unusual scoring chance of the first half in a 33rd-minute free kick. Senior Murray Cockburn laced a shot off the right goalpost and followed his own rebound, only for play to be blown dead because the player who takes the free kick cannot be the next one to touch the ball.
The Maple Leafs also had a late chance when Bontreger followed up the rebound of an Ollie Smithshot, but Trojan goalkeeper Luke Williams made two of his four saves to keep the match scoreless.
GC had a pair of corner kicks early in the second half and Cockburn hit the post on the other end of the field in the 53rd minute, but it would take until almost three-quarters of the way through the match for either team to score, and Goshen’s leading scorer set up the opportunity.
Aeschliman received a pass on the left wing and sped past two defenders into the penalty area. The third man he took on was a bit too anxious to stop the sophomore, giving up a penalty kick in the process, and Ramkissoon converted to make the score 1-0.
A Taylor foul less than two minutes later set the stage for Aeschliman to get a goal of his own, tucking a free kick into the upper-left corner of the net to double the lead with 24:38 remaining.
Taylor (3-7, 0-3) responded quickly, getting a shot from Alex Gallup 13 seconds after the restart of play, and was able to convert on its second try: Jeremiah Rader took a pass forward from Michael Maloney to cut the lead in half with 18:34 remaining.
The Trojans also had the next chance, when Paul McBride checked into the game in the 74th minute and tested GC netminder Tomas Fonseca with a shot seconds later, but it would be Goshen with the final score in the 77th minute as Ethan Francois-Ravalier found Bontreger on the right side of the box for a 3-1 lead.
With their advantage back to multiple goals, the Maple Leafs used the opportunity to bolster their back line, swapping in four sets of fresh legs over the last 10 minutes. Taylor’s only two shots after GC extended the lead sailed high and wide, respectively.
Each team put 7 shots on goal in the game with Taylor sporting a 14-13 edge in total shot attempts, although Goshen took 6 corner kicks to Taylor’s 3. Fonseca made 6 saves for GC.
Notable Numbers:
2: The teams combined for two total shots – not to be confused with shots on goal – in the first 15 minutes.
6: Fonseca’s save total was his best of the season, topping a 5-save effort against Central Methodist University on August 25. The junior made his first start since September 4 on Wednesday.
7: Seven Maple Leaf players took at least one shot, which had the side effect of allowing Bontreger to lead the team with only 3 attempts. Rader led all players with 6 shots.
Up Next: Saturday, Oct. 6 — Goshen at Marian, 7 p.m.