SPRING ARBOR, Mich. - Men's soccer wrapped up their season on the road in a big matchup against the Spring Arbor Cougars, finding their second result in conference action after the 1-1 tie.
The Cougars put on the pressure immediately, putting up five shots in the first 15 minutes of play. However, the Goshen defense and Theo Lucchesi were having none of it. The Leafs then answered with a few shots of their own before half time, but both teams went into the break scoreless.
The second half was a similar story to the first, with the Cougars putting on the pressure early, but not finding a way to convert past the Goshen back line. After a series of dangerous corners for the Cougars, in the 79th minute they finally found the breakthrough they needed on a set piece. Caleb Swartzendruber sent a long ball in from beyond the corner of the 18 right to the top of the 6, where the head of Micah Vasey was waiting to receive it.
With only 11 minutes left of play, the Leafs needed to answer quickly, and answer they did. Just six minutes later, a long ball over the top found Kyle Phillip passed his defender, and with a low and hard shot around the keeper, he found the awaiting side netting for the equalizer.
From there, the Leafs kept their composure and maintained their result against Spring Arbor, who is ranked #6 in the Crossroads League as the tournament approaches.
Lucchesi earned a career high 14 saves on the night, absolutely obliterating his previous record of three, as he more than quadrupled his results. By 38 minutes into the match, he had already surpassed his total career saves, before going on to make nine more. This also the most saves in a match, by a single keeper or otherwise, since 2022.
Phillip also ends the season with six goals, leaving him the Leafs leading scorer for the year.
The Leaf finished the season 2-14-2, and 1-7-1 in Crossroads League action, looking forward to a lot of young talent from this year being developed further with more time, as nearly all of the Leafs starting lineup are set to return next year.
