GOSHEN, Ind. — Henrique Eichenberger found the back of the net with a second-half free kick, but the Goshen College men's soccer team was unable to bang home a second goal to tie the score Saturday evening as the Maple Leafs dropped their conference opener to Indiana Wesleyan University 2-1 at the John Ingold Athletic Complex.
Jonas Becari scored on a 34th-minute penalty kick for Indiana Wesleyan (7-2, 1-0) before Giuseppe Santacroce doubled the lead on a header with 32:14 remaining. Goshen had a first-half goal waved off by the offside flag and thought it had won another free kick just outside the penalty area less than two minutes after its goal, but the equalizer proved elusive.
A game that saw 26 combined fouls, 13 for each team, got started early when the referee issued simultaneous yellow cards in the third minute following a scuffle while setting up for a Wildcat free kick. The ensuing GC shot was blocked and Indiana Wesleyan took the game's first shot on goal at the other end.
The shot counter read 6-4 in the 34th minute when a collision in the penalty area led the Maple Leafs to concede their second penalty of the season, which Becari buried. GC had four free kicks and a corner in the rest of the half, but could not produce a shot and entered the intermission down 1-0.
IWU doubled its advantage when Winter Casseus and Santacroce came upon a loose ball at the top of the attacking third with Santacroce playing it over the goalkeeper for the 2-0 lead. Goshen answered with a shot attempt at the other end about a minute and a half later, but Eichenberger hit the shot that counted with 24:36 remaining for his second goal of the season.
Less than 90 seconds later, Goshen hoped for another dangerous free kick as Lucas Bontreger, who had been a part of the offside near-goal in the 12th minute, collided with the Wildcat goalkeeper just outside GC's attacking penalty area. While Bontreger was the player who stayed down an extra second, he was also the one called for the foul.
Goshen picked up a corner in the 71st minute, leading to a pair of shots and an IWU save, and while the team may have had the majority of the possession over the last quarter-hour, they had one shot to show for it.
Matias da Fonseca made 5 saves for Goshen and Aaron Carr had three stops for IWU.
The Maple Leafs travel to Mount Vernon Nazarene University on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. kickoff to begin their three-match road trip.
