TU Claims Shutout in First Win
UPLAND, Ind. – The Taylor men’s soccer team earned its first victory of 2018 after defeating Trinity Christian 3-0 at Turner Stadium on Tuesday.
The Trojan (1-1-0) defense held the Trolls (0-1-0) to only four shots, with one being on goal. Trinity Christian attempted one shot in the first 60 minutes of action.
In the last two games between the teams, TU has outscored the Trolls 7-0 and holds a 26-10 shot advantage.
On offense, the Purple and Gold took 12 shot attempts for the game, the least amount of shots taken in a win since defeating Saint Francis (Ill.) 4-2 on Aug. 19, 2016.
TU found the back of the net early in the match, as Jeremiah Rader scored in the third minute off the Andrew Johnson assist. Johnson found himself alone with the ball near midfield and placed a lob pass in front of Rader, who was in a full-sprint and was able to slice it past the keeper from over 20 yards out. Rader now has two-career goals against the Trolls.
Nearing the intermission of play, Paul McBride scored his first-career goal for the Purple and Goal off a rebound from a blocked kicked. Luke Holwerda had a shot on goal that was deflected by Trinity Christian’s keeper and McBride was there for the score, giving Holwerda his first-career assist.
Josiah Wieland tallied his second goal of the year, in only his first start. Clay Vander Kolk split a pair of defenders with a pass to help Wieland score in the 57th minute of the match. Wieland fielded the pass and hit the lower-left corner of the net to put Taylor up 3-0.
The Trojans hit the road for the first time in 2018 on Saturday, as they travel west to play at Judson University (0-0-0). The game is slated to begin at 3:30 p.m. ET.
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