By Andrew Snyder
Athletic Marketing Coordinator

CENTERVILLE, Ind. –– Stuart Aeschliman found the back of the net in the eighth minute followed closely by Brodie Nofziger in the 10th minute as the Goshen College and Indiana University East men's soccer programs clashed Saturday afternoon at Centerville High School with the Maple Leafs claiming a 3-0 victory.

Goshen (7-2) saw Aeschliman's opening goal came from the left side of the 18-yard box off of a ball played forward by Lucas Vilela. Outpacing his defender to the ball, Aeschliman slotted the ball into the far post netting for the early 1-0 lead.

Momentum continued to swing to the visitors, as two minutes later Nate Nussbaum connected down the right side to Ollie Smith, who after a few dribbles drove a low ball across the goalmouth. Brodie Nofziger finished his run to direct it home, tallying his fourth point of the season and doubling the Maple Leaf lead.

"Today was a tough game," commented head coach Arron Patrick. "It was a long drive, a hot day, a tough field to play on, and a brand new program to play against, so getting insight on them was hard. In the first half we moved the ball and played well enough to get the two goal lead. Being a perfectionist I'm never happy but give credit to the guys, they did a professional job."

"Obviously a big highlight for us was Brodie getting his first goal," continued Patrick. "He has worked so hard, and we have told him it would happen eventually. It's hard to remain positive as a striker when you aren't scoring, but Brodie has done an outstanding job. The guys celebrating when he scored said a lot about what they think of Brodie."

Heading into halftime Goshen held a 7-4 shot advantage and each team had one corner kick. Aaron Gipson made two of his five saves in the opening 45 minutes for the Red Wolves (5-3-1), who are in the program's inaugural season.  

Aeschliman used his pace and precision to enter the scorebook again for the Maple Leafs in the 78th minute, this time assisted by TJ White on a long through ball. Aeschliman's second goal was his eighth of the season, matching the non-conference output of the entire 2016 team: the last Maple Leaf to score more than eight goals in a season was Tony Janzen in 2007.

IU East continued to push on offense but the Goshen back line held strong, posting their third consecutive shutout and extending their shutout streak to 340:46, a mark surpassed only 13 times in school history. Junior goalkeeper Johan Escalante was credited with two saves in just under 80 minutes of action for the Maple Leafs, as senior Oliver Wisseman picked up the final 10 minutes between the pipes.

"The second half was a bit more sloppy but we got the third goal, and from that point it became a job of game management," Patrick said. "We made a lot of subs and got everyone some decent minutes, so to end the game winning 3-0 was great."

Goshen outshot IU East 13-7, led by Smith with four attempts; Kegan Shiflett had two shots for the home side. The Maple Leafs finished with six corners to Red Wolves' four.

"I love the team spirit this team has," mentioned Patrick. "It's the best of any team I've coached here. The leaders in the group, like Brodie, have done a great job creating an environment that everyone enjoys and that has been crucial in our team's development throughout the course of non-conference play. That is our biggest strength as we move into league play."

With their non-conference schedule in the books, the Maple Leafs return to action next Saturday to open Crossroads League play at home against the University of Saint Francis. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. EDT following the women's match with Huntington at 4.

"Now we are back to being 0-0-0," concluded Patrick. "The real season now begins! We've learned a lot, had some good moments that give us confidence and some low moments that give us drive as a team. I believe in this group so much and am excited to see them compete.