GOSHEN, Ind. — Murray Cockburn finished his Goshen College men's soccer career the same way he started it, scoring a first-half goal to put the Maple Leafs on top Wednesday night on Senior Night at the John Ingold Athletic Complex.

Stuart Aeschliman also scored, sending his goal total into double figures for the second consecutive season, but Indiana Wesleyan University came away with a 3-2 victory in the final match of each team's regular season.

The buzz from the pregame recognition of GC's nine seniors, who graduate with a total of more than 400 appearances, had barely died down when Cockburn hit an 18-yard shot off Ollie Smith's pass around a defender 6:06 into the contest to put the Maple Leafs ahead. The goal came on Goshen's second shot of the game.

Indiana Wesleyan (9-6-2, 3-4-2) got into the shot column with a pair of Sammy Conti attempts, both of which went wide, before pulling level in the 21st minute. Felipe Mendonca got credit for tying the score on a Glauber Oliveira assist, and Mendonca also sought to double the lead two minutes later when he missed wide on another attempt.

Goshen (7-9-2, 2-5-2) took the bulk of the possession over the next 10 minutes, culminating in a 31st-minute corner kick for senior Spencer Aeschliman, before Indiana Wesleyan took the last four shots of the opening 45 minutes. While the teams each had their share of opportunities in the first half, combining for 11 shots, neither goalkeeper was credited with a save.

The Wildcats took their first lead 2:20 after halftime on Mendonca's shot from distance before extending it through Conti less than three minutes later to take a 3-1 lead. GC senior Ethan Francois-Ravalier took it upon himself to try the team's first shot in response, missing high in the 52nd minute.

Stuart Aeschliman cut Goshen's deficit in half with a scissor kick exactly 16 minutes into the second half, moving the score back to 3-2 with 29:00 to play. Over the following 10 minutes, the Maple Leafs put three shots on goal in an attempt to even the score, but both goal scorers saw their bids for a second strike rejected by the IWU back line.

Over the final half-hour, Goshen's defense held up its end of the bargain; Indiana Wesleyan did not take a shot that required a save after the 55th minute of regulation. Johan Escalante made one save in his final home match; IWU's Naoya Fugono made three.

Notable Numbers:

6:06: Cockburn's seventh-minute goal marked the fastest GC score in a conference game this season; Stuart Aeschliman's 15th-minute strike at Bethel in the league opener marked the previous best.

3: Aeschliman (who led the Maple Leafs with four shots) and Mendonca (who paced the Wildcats with seven) each also paced their teams with three shots on goal per side.

Up Next: All-Crossroads League teams to be announced week of Nov. 12.