Men's soccer

  • 133-67-13 (.654) record since 2001
  • 2012 Iowa Conference tournament finalist
  • New game field in 2005
  • 11 consecutive Iowa Conference tournament appearances

Illinois Wesleyan tops Central with own goal

Men's soccer | Sept. 11, 2011

BLOOMINGTON, ILL.—The Central College men’s soccer squad couldn’t catch a break Sunday.

In a 3-0 loss to Illinois Wesleyan, the only net the Dutch were able to find was their own. Illinois Wesleyan cracked the scoreline in the 63rd minute on an own goal.

“It was very unfortunate,” coach Garry Laidlaw said. “There was a scramble at the top of the box and one of our players got stuck on the ball, so the referee had to call a free kick for dangerous play. We had an own goal trying to clear the ball out.”

The Dutch amped up their attack, but risky chances cost the squad.

“From that point we gambled and made changes to get us back in the game and they punished us with two more goals,” Laidlaw said.

The game was otherwise deadlocked.

“The own goal turned the game on its head,” Laidlaw said. “Before that everything was evenly contested. There weren’t a lot of chances for either team.”

Central outshot the Titans 12-8 and each team had five corner kicks.

“We had good spells of possession until the free kick,” Laidlaw said. “Two balls flashed across the face of the goal that didn’t go in. But that’s soccer. Illinois Wesleyan (3-1) is a good team and the breaks just fell for them today.”

Goalkeeper Tim Maggard (sophomore, Torrance, Calif., South HS) played the full 90 minutes and had one save. Midfielder Leland Schipper (senior, Ankeny) led the Dutch attack with three shots and midfielder Jonathan Schroeder (senior, St. Charles, North HS) had two shots on goal.

Central (3-2) wraps up its three-game road series Wednesday, taking on Monmouth College (Ill.) (1-2) at 5 p.m. at Monmouth. The Dutch lead the all-time series 7-5-1 and shut out the Fighting Scots 3-0 last season.

“We play them every year and they’ve gotten better and better,” Laidlaw said. “We know they’ll be a challenge. We’ll pick up the pieces today and come out ready to play.”

  

Central College