September 2, 2012

For Immediate Release

Fort Wayne, Ind. – The Indiana Tech men’s soccer team topped Shawnee State University 1-0 on Sunday at Bishop D’Arcy Stadium to extend their winning streak to four games.

Freshman Will Johnson (Ft. Wayne, IN/Bishop Luers) scored what proved to be the day’s only goal just over two minutes into the contest and the stout Warrior defense made it stand.

The win moved the Warriors to 4-0 on the season while the Bears dropped to 0-4 overall.

"A team has to be satisfied anytime you can win on back-to-back days and get to 4-0 on top of that,” said Tech Head Coach David Bokhart after the match. “I think we played two very hard working teams this weekend that pushed us and forced us to do things differently than we need to. We have to do better dictating the game and putting our opponents on their heels. We have the personnel to do that and must find the right rhythm and balance.”

Just over two minutes into the match, junior keeper Reece Richardson (Halifax, England/Ryburn Valley) sent a long ball down the field that Johnson collected in the attacking third. Johnson then worked his way around a couple Shawnee State defenders before ripping a shot from the top of the box underneath the Bear’s netminder to give the Warriors a very early 1-0 advantage.

With Tech still clinging to the slim lead midway through the second half, Shawnee State had one of its better opportunities to even the score. The Bears were able to finally get by the Warriors defense with a quick counter attack and as Richardson came out to challenge SSU’s Dylan Stevens, Stevens tried to chip the ball over Richardson but the shot sailed wide of the goal.

Freshman Zach St. Aubin (Manteno, IL/Bishop McNamara) then nearly put the game away with six minutes to go after creating a turnover deep in the Shawnee State end and had just the goalie to beat, but could never get a good enough handle on the ball to get off a shot.

The Bears had one final chance to tie the game with less than two minutes left on the clock. Coming off a free kick from 25 yards out, SSU sent the kick into the box but Richardson made a great play on the ball and batted it away to end the threat.

“I'm still pleased with the overall ability of the team and how we'll come together, Bokhart added. “I'm also proud of our diversity in that we can make 4-5 changes to the team from one day to the next and still get a result. As much talk as there has been about some of our international flavor, some of our biggest difference makers have been our local products and Midwestern kids. Zach is our top player through four games and Will has made a case for our Fort Wayne guys that Tech can find success with these kind of guys. Hopefully we can strike the right balance between experience, youth, international and 'traditional' high school products.”

The Warriors will head to Palos Heights, Illinois next for a matchup with Trinity Christian College on Friday, Sept. 7 before returning home to host Olivet Nazarene University on Sept. 15.

For more information on Indiana Tech athletics please call the Athletic Office at 260-422-5561 ext. 2492 or visit our website at http://www.indianatech.edu/athletics

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