FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Goshen men's soccer team is yet to win in conference play after a close game away at St Francis. The hosts took the victory on a scoreline of 4-3. 

The Cougars had some disciplinary issues to start the game, with Leander Wunder and Ryusei Matsushita picking up yellow cards before the twenty-minute mark.

The Cougars hit the front in the 24th minute when Christian Walter scored from open play. The Cougars doubled their lead six minutes later, when Henning Bundschuh converted from the penalty spot. 

Goshen had chances to score during the opening 45 minutes. In the 34th minute, Eli Simones swung in a corner that found Guilherme Moreira. Moreira's shot was high and wide of the target.

Goshen had a new lease of life at the start of the second half. Alejandro Portocarrero registered the first shot of the half inside the first two minutes. Two minutes later, Goshen opened their account for the game when Adrian Gonzalez Martinez found the back of the net. Gonzalez Martinez had another opportunity to score three minutes later, but his shot was saved by Saint Francis goalkeeper Kevin Wachiaya Onelius. 

The Cougars restored their two-goal advantage in the 56th minute when Matsushita scored from the spot. They added a fourth goal in the 74th minute when Joshua Jelany found the back of the net. 

A minute after scoring their fourth goal, Saint Francis was down to ten men when Matsushita was shown a red card for his second bookable offense of the contest. Two minutes later, Eli Simones got Goshen back into the game with 15 to play. The Leafs continued to push and their efforts nearly paid off when Pedro Diegues hit the crossbar in the 78th minute.

Goshen registered their most shots in a conference game since their opener against Mount Vernon Nazarene. The Maple Leafs managed 19 attempts in the contest. They also had 12 shots on goal in the game, the most they've had in a game in three seasons. Five of those shots on goal came in the final ten minutes, with Wachiaya Onelius saving four of them. 

The one he didn't save came in the final minute of the game, when Jethro Ndyomugabe found the back of the net with an assist by Simones. Fifty seconds later, Jorge Silva called the Saint Francis shot stopper into action again. Wachiaya Onelius was equal to the Goshen midfielders' effort. That was the final shot of the game, giving Saint Francis the victory in an exhilarating contest.

Eli Simones' assist for Ndyomugabe's goal is his sixth of the season. This is the most assists from a Goshen player since 2017, when Ollie Smith had seven. This game saw the most goals in a conference game since last season for Goshen. That game, a 3-3 draw with Marian, was the last time three different players scored for the Maple Leafs in the same game. The goal scorers were three different players from the ones who scored today.

Goshen is now out of conference tournament contention. They could tie with Taylor or Huntington for eighth position, but would lose tiebreakers against either team. The final game of the season for the Maple Leafs is this Wednesday against Spring Arbor at the Goshen College Soccer Complex.