MARION, Ind. — Uriel Macias scored his first goal of the season to put the Goshen College men's soccer team in front in the second half, but Indiana Wesleyan University's Jonas Becari and Philipp Basara hooked up on a second goal with 2:23 remaining to deny the Maple Leafs their first win of the season Monday night at IWU's Wildcat Field.
Macias led all players with 8 shots and the Maple Leafs (0-4-2) out-shot Indiana Wesleyan (5-1-3, 4-1-3 Crossroads League) 20-15. The Wildcats had a 7-6 margin in shots on goal; each team took five corner kicks and the sides were as level as could be among the 41 total fouls.
Lucas Bontreger tried 4 shots and Adhika Ezra added 3 for Goshen. Connor Wyse was credited with his first career assist on Macias' go-ahead goal.
Matias da Fonseca made 5 saves for GC while his IWU counterpart, Aaron Carr, made 4.
The Wildcats did not have a match for Macias' volume of shots, but what they lacked in depth they made up for in breadth, as nine different players took tries at goal. Basara was the only player to hit the target and test da Fonseca multiple times while Wes Williams led the team with three shots.
Goshen took five of the game's first six shots before Basara scored the opening goal 17:29 into the contest on a Becari assist. From that point forward, the shot figures evened out: in fact, it was 5-1 the other way between the goal and the siren that ended the half.
The Maple Leafs equalized through Eichenberger with 8:55 gone in the second half on their first attempt of the period. Indiana Wesleyan was called offside four times before Bontreger hit the crossbar in the 56th minute and Macias missed high on the rebound.
Macias put Goshen's fourth shot of the half in the back of the net with 21:31 remaining on Wyse's assist. Macias and Bontreger took the next two shots before the Wildcats answered with two of their own, the last of which was Becari's goal.
Goshen took 8 of the 12 shots in overtime, holding a 4-2 edge in each 10-minute period. Five of Macias' eight attempts came in the extra periods, including two that forced saves. In an eventful second overtime, the Maple Leafs followed two corner kicks with two shots and a red card, all in the span of 130 seconds.
Goshen concludes the regular season Wednesday night at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Bishop D'Arcy Stadium. While Crossroads League playoff scenarios have proven difficult to calculate this season due to unequal numbers of games played and the general effects of COVID-19, it stands to reason that the Maple Leafs can improve their postseason chances with a win.
