By Tony Miller
Sports Information Director

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio — TJ White's first-touch goal with 13:39 to play sent the Goshen College men's soccer team into the Crossroads League tournament Saturday night with a 1-0 win over Mount Vernon Nazarene University at Yellowjacket Stadium.

Nate Nussbaum added his fifth assist of the season, factoring into the scoring for the first time in four weeks, and Johan Escalante made six saves as the Maple Leafs ran their record to 11-3-2 overall (4-1-2 in conference play) while racking up their eighth shutout of the regular season for the first time since 1992.

The Cougars (7-9, 2-5) had the bulk of the early chances, getting off five shots to Goshen's one in the first quarter-hour. The Maple Leafs wouldn't get their second shot of the match until after the 38-minute mark, by which point MVNU had attempted seven and forced Escalante into three saves.

Goshen turned in six corner kicks at halftime, five more than it conceded, but was unable to turn those into the lid-lifting score.

"I felt very confident that we would eventually get the goal that we deserved," said Goshen coach Arron Patrick. "Credit MVNU for their hard work and forcing us to play quickly. They are a well-organized team that is tough to break down. They will do well if they make the tournament as they are one of the better teams we have played."

The teams traded yellow cards and shots early in the second half but were unable to get a breakthrough in either direction until White scored on a square cross from Nussbaum on the right side. Mount Vernon Nazarene mustered just three shots once they fell behind, putting two of those on target for Escalante to save. After Goshen's 7-2 deficit, each team tried seven shots over the final 52 minutes.

"Nate and Oscar Ocampo were great in the midfield and really controlled the game," Patrick said. "MVNU is a very good team in transition, and those two along with Sven Badstieber nullified that for large parts. Our forward players got into much better positions tonight and helped us rotate the ball really well and we played very good one-two touch passing. Nate was back to his best today and his high pressure won us the ball that he calmly slotted back to TJ, who did a great job showing composure and tucked it away nicely."

Goshen's eighth clean sheet of the regular season is tied for the fourth-most in school history; every other season with at least that many shutouts came before the Crossroads League expanded to eight schools in 1994.

"Getting the clean sheet was big, both because it's something we pride ourselves on and because we bettered our record from last year," Patrick said. "We continue to be a threat offensively and I believe we will find our best form as we move toward the end of the season."

The win was Goshen's second all-time in Mount Vernon, where the Maple Leafs had gone 1-1-1 since the Cougars joined the conference in 2011. The biennial road trip of almost five hours is the longest on GC's conference schedule.

"Mount Vernon is not a trip that most teams look forward to, but we made it a point to see this as a fun road trip and to enjoy the rest of our fall break," Patrick said. "Our sport has a very short and grueling season so we decided to use this as a chance to hit the reset button. We didn't train after the Taylor game (on Wednesday) and instead spent a lot of time hanging out and enjoying each other's company. We have some hilarious guys on the team and those guys did a great job of helping us relax."

Nussbaum led the Maple Leafs with three shots, the only player to take more than one for the visitors. Goshen's five attempts on frame all came from different players. Mount Vernon Nazarene's Connor Davis took a match-high five shots: he and teammate Breno Nascimento were the only players with multiple shots on target.

Mount Vernon Nazarene committed 13 fouls to Goshen's 10: between fouls, offsides and corner kicks, GC had a 22-16 advantage in set piece opportunities. Adam Miller was the hard-luck loser in goal for the Cougars, who have now lost four straight matches in which they conceded twice or less.

While the Maple Leafs have qualified for their 22nd Crossroads League tournament in 23 years and are in position to host a postseason game for the first time since 2009, the team still has two regular-season matches left on the docket, and the road isn't getting easier. The 26 points (eight wins and two draws) put up by GC's two remaining foes create the second-hardest remaining schedule in the league.

"Indiana Wesleyan will be a very tough task on Wednesday," Patrick said. "They are in a very good run with some exceptionally talented players. I am excited to take my guys there and challenge ourselves against players who have experience at the national championship level. We've never won in Marion since I've been here and I know our team is excited to put that to bed."

Goshen visits IWU on the Wildcat Soccer Field at 7 p.m. Wednesday. A win in that match would all but seal the Maple Leafs' top-four spot and clinch a first-round home match seven days later, although the team must get help from one of three sources to ensure that spot on Wednesday rather than Saturday. The team concludes its regular season at home against Grace on Saturday.