GOSHEN, Ind. - Men's soccer pulled off a decisive victory over IU Northwest to secure their first win of the year. It was also their first shutout of the season with a scoreline of 2-0.
From the start of the game, the Maple Leafs were a dominant presence on the field — controlling possession and winning a vast majority of 50-50 balls. Though the first half was scoreless, the Leafs had several near chances — they just needed to find a way to put one away.
The breakthrough finally came in the 51st minute off a corner kick. Guilherme Mello took the original shot after the ball bounced around in the box for a few seconds. After that was deflected off the post, Martim Alves took the next attempt, which bounced off Carter Levesque, the IU Northwest keeper, right to the feet of Pedro Diegues, who finally put it to bed.
The second goal, which came in the 69th minute, happened in a very similar fashion. The Leafs were on a counterattack when the first shot deflected off a defender, eventually falling to the feet of David Hidalgo Muniain. His shot was similarly deflected off the far post before Kyle Phillip managed to get a foot on it and finish it off. This makes Phillip the first on the team to get to the two goal mark this year.
There was very nearly another goal, as the Leafs picked up a penalty kick in the 80th minute — Jorge Silva was on a breakaway off a long ball forward from Zeke Bodiker when he was taken down in the box. Alves stepped up to take the kick and placed a solid ball low on the ground — however, Levesque showed great commitment and luck was in his favor as he chose the correct side to dive, deflecting the ball wide.
In the end, the Leafs outshot the RedHawks 22-5, the most for the Leafs since their home opener last season. Hidalgo Muniain led the Leafs with five shots, putting three of them on frame. Diegues was close behind with 4, and Roberto Sanchez Brito and Alves put up three.
The Leafs defense, led primarily by Jalen Borneo-John and Salvador Evangelho, was rock solid all night, only letting Matias Labbe pick up two saves on the day.
The Maple Leafs are back in action on the road on Saturday, Sep. 19 at 3:30 to take on the Crimson Pride of IU Columbus, as they hope to translate this momentum toward the conference season.
