GOSHEN, Ind. - Men's soccer pulled off their first home conference win since 2022 as they defeated the (RV) Taylor Trojans 3-1. The Trojans were also the Maple Leafs' last conference win until tonight after their victory back in 2024.
Despite the 3-1 scoreline, the first half was relatively relaxed, with both teams making compelling attacks but not quite finding the finishing touch. The most action came in the 34th minute when GC was awarded a penalty kick. Roberto Sanchez Brito stepped up to take the kick, but despite a nice placement it was saved by Connor Shaw for the Trojans.
There were a few more dangerous attempts in the first half, but nothing that was capitalized on. Both teams also received cautions in the first half in the form of one yellow card for each team.
However, after half time, things really started to pick up. In the 53rd minute, Goshen was the first to break the scoring seal with a header to the far post from Pedro Diegues off a beautiful cross from Salvador Evangelho. This is Diegues' third goal of the season.
The Leafs then quickly answered their own challenge with a second goal, scored in the 56th minute by Kyle Phillip, firmly cementing his status as Goshen's leading scorer this season as he picked up his fifth career goal. His shot was low and aggressive, coming off the pass from David Hidalgo Muniain, who himself had beaten three Trojans one-on-one to get to the edge of the box and position himself for the assist.
The Leafs couldn't celebrate for long though, as the Trojans found an answer in the 57th minute with a goal from Josh Byrd, who was assisted by Caleb Van Dop and Edrick Mugisha. This goal also came off a header from the cross, looking very similar to Diegues'.
Though the Trojans gained some momentum in their efforts to pull off a comeback, the Leafs were quick to put those thoughts to bed as they scored just 30 seconds later to put the difference back to two goals.
Nicholas Whitaker found his first goal of the season in the 58th minute as he decided to go it alone, hoping that after his two prior shots on goal this is the one that would land — and land it did, straight past Shaw's outstretched hands and into the upper 90.
With that, the story of the game was mostly concluded. The Leafs picked up two additional yellow cards near the end of the half, and the Trojans kept up their intense pressure, giving the Leafs no time to take any kind of break. In the end, the Leafs had double the shots on goal to the Trojans, and things seem to finally be clicking as they move into the meat of conference play.
The Maple Leafs are back in action on Saturday, Oct. 3 as they travel to Mishawaka for their U.S. Highway 20 Cup matchup — set to face #18 Bethel at 5 p.m.
