Cougars Blank UMKC

by Eric Hess

September 9, 2012

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Brian Groark scored his first goal of the season Sunday as SIUE men's soccer blanked UMKC 1-0 at Korte Stadium.

SIUE improved its record to 5-1 with its fourth shutout of the season. UMKC dropped to 1-4.

The Cougars recorded their goal at the 84:01 mark. Jared Tejada dumped a pass over three UMKC defenders to Groark who was running on to the play. Groark went upper right with his shot past UMKC goalkeeper Kevin Corby.

"I think for a senior to step up and finish that late in the match is good. Brian has had a good year so far. And for him to get his first goal of the year, it came at an opportune time," said SIUE Head Coach Kevin Kalish.

The Cougars dominated the statistics with an 18-6 shot advantage and an 11-0 edge in corner kicks.

"That's soccer. Goals come in streaks, but I feel like we are creating a lot of quality chances," said Kalish.

Christian Volesky led SIUE with eight shots followed by four from Groark and three fromPeter Kelly. David Sarabia led the UMKC offense with two shots.

SIUE goalkeepers John Berner and Kent Kobernus combined for the shutout. Berner made two saves before being replaced by Kobernus in the 81st minute.

SIUE had led in shots 5-1 after the first 45 minutes of playing against the wind. Once the Cougars had the wind, the team attacked UMKC's back line and created several scoring opportunities.

"Overall we're close to clicking on all cylinders," said Kalish. "We need to make sure we bring the right approach to each game and keep progressing on both sides of the ball. It's still fairly early in the season, and there are a lot of games left on the schedule."

Next up for the Cougars is No. 10-ranked Indiana in Bloomington, Ind. SIUE faces the Hoosiers Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT.

"Our game on Friday against Indiana will be a fantastic environment. It will be another test to measure ourselves."