Men's Soccer News

Centre 2 - Oglethorpe 1

After the win on Friday night, the boys were feeling pretty good about how they were playing at the moment. However, there was no doubt what type of team Oglethorpe was going to be. We haven't beaten them in 3 years and they come to play every game. No doubt, the guys knew that if we didn't play well, Oglethorpe could beat us. And they thought the same. With that mindset coming from both sides, it was almost inevitable that this game would be extremely back and forth. In addition, this game had some big time implications. Both teams were undefeated in conference play and both held regional rankings, with Centre at 3 rd and Oglethorpe at 7 th . The winner of this game would no doubt have the upper hand heading into the second half of SCAC play.

The game would get going in a hurry and Centre would reap the early benefits. Just 3 minutes into the game, junior striker Nick Judah ( Louisville , KY ) would score his 5 th goal in 3 games and 11 th overall. Taken a great through ball from senior captain David Horne (Louisville, KY ) Judah would strike ball far post and put Oglethorpe in a hold early, 1-0. However, as the game would suggest and doing what a good team does, OU would even the score in the 20 th minute. Centre would give up a free kick just outside the 18 and OU would convert on that free kick to equal the score at 1-1. Neither side really gained much control to finish out the half. For the half, Centre would have the edge on shots 7-2; with a 1-0 advantage on corner kicks.

The second half would start out and continue much as the first half ended, with neither team really having much control of the play. In a game like this, neither team wants to make that “big” mistake, so everything tends to be safe and at times, direct. The pressure of this game was certainly evident on both sides. Oglethorpe would actually have the edge this half in shots, with a 6-5 advantage. However Centre would make one of theirs count in the 85 th minute. Junior striker Brandon Gish ( Owensboro , KY ) would connect off a corner kick from fellow junior Matt Kowaleski ( Dayton , OH ) to put Centre up 2-1. It would be Gish's third goal of the season and second game winner. Both of Brandon 's game winners have come at an ideal time against two of our bigger in-region opponents; the other being against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater . Both Brandon and Matt have really had outstanding junior seasons thus far and couldn't have connected at a better time as Centre would hold on to win 2-1.

Just a fantastic win for this team, and much deserved. This is just an outstanding group of players and individuals. Their work ethic in training has been exceptional and their attitude to succeed has been outstanding.

We now travel to Terre Haute , IN on Wednesday for a match against Elmhurst on Thursday afternoon. This is a make-up game after the game was cancelled due to rain several weeks ago. The game will be played at 1:30 on the campus of Rose Hulman IT. We'll then return home for a match against Asbury College on Saturday night.