By Andrew Snyder
Sports Information Intern

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Ollie Smith scored his team-leading third goal of the season, but only after the Warriors of Indiana Tech had tallied thrice as Goshen College lost its men's soccer game by a 3-1 margin Wednesday evening at the Warrior Athletic Field.

Goshen (2-3-3) started on the wrong foot in the seventh minute when a set piece into the box deflected off of a Maple Leaf defender's head and into the net for an early 1-0 deficit. Indiana Tech (5-0) tallied its first offensive goal of the night 21 minutes later for a 2-0 lead when a shot from Mitch Smith rebounded in the box and Landon Cochran buried it home.

"Set pieces have really started to become our Achilles heel," said Goshen coach Arron Patrick. "It comes down to opposing teams having good service and more desire to get to the ball first. That's what all three losses have come down to. We're going to spend a lot of time this week working on accountability and responsibility on those balls because we can't keep throwing games away with laziness on dead balls in conference play."

Scrambling to stay in the game, the Maple Leafs made a late-first-half push, including shots near the top of the 18-yard box for sophomore Spencer Aeschliman and junior Ari Benjamin, but into the break to score remained 2-0 in favor of the hosts.

Indiana Tech recorded seven shots in the first half to Goshen's five and also won the corner kick edge 3-2. The Maple Leafs committed seven fouls in the first 45-minute span as opposed to only one against the Warriors.

The second half showed promise for Goshen, but with 20 minutes remaining, Warrior Andrew Higgins drove a corner kick into the box where teammate Smith's redirection made it to the back of the net to make the score 3-0.

The Maple Leaf response came two minutes later when the individual hustle of freshman Ollie Smith paid dividends; the winger beat his defender into the box and chipped a shot over the keeper and off the right post before trickling across the goalmouth and into the left side netting, bringing the score to 3-1.

With one goal in the books, the Maple Leafs gained momentum and increased their defensive pressure. Goshen's best chance came when a ball served into the box bounced towards senior Calvin Mangunda just right of the penalty spot, but his shot was deflected back out of the box. A majority of the final 20 minutes was played in Goshen's offensive half of the field, but the Warriors were up to the task of defending and the game finished 3-1.

"We pride ourselves on having a resilient group of young men on the pitch," Patrick said. "Tonight we could easily have gotten back level with more clinical and decisive finishing. We are starting slowly in too many matches, and while that hasn't always hurt us, tonight and at Baker it did. It's not a physical error but a mindset problem: we have shown we can start well, and when we do, we win."

Indiana Tech finished with a 20-11 shot advantage and an 11-3 corner kick edge. Goshen committed nine fouls while the Warriors were whistled for six violations.

Sophomore Johan Escalante got the start in goal for the Maple Leafs and made three saves in 71 minutes of action. Junior Oliver Wisseman played the remaining 19 minutes between the posts, recording one save for Goshen. Adam Viviano tallied six saves for the Warriors.

"At this time a year ago, we were a young, inexperienced and deflated 1-7 side," Patrick said. "This year, we've lost only three times: twice to undefeated teams and once to a perennial powerhouse. We are battle-tested, confident, and have a huge point to prove in our league. Other teams better be ready to fight when they play this group that will be together for the next three years."

Goshen finishes its non-conference schedule with a 2-3-3 record and now has a nine-day break before returning to action next Saturday, September 24. The Maple Leafs head back to Fort Wayne to open their Crossroads League season against the University of St. Francis, with kickoff set for 7:00 p.m. at Bishop D'Arcy Stadium.