Jordan Wilkins scored his second goal of the season on a header off of a John Gottwald corner kick in the 55th minute to lead the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over 17th ranked North Park University Wednesday night at Fiskum Field in Whitewater. The Warhawks (7-3-2), unbeaten in their last four contests, handed the Vikings their second loss of the season, 9-2.

The first half saw a lot of action in the midfield as both teams fought for quality possessions.  Although there were 16 combined shots, none were a serious threat.

The second half started with a little more heat. North Park had a shot go off the crossbar at 47:26.  Several minutes later the Warhawks saw their best opportunity of the match snuffed out when Viking goalkeeper Wesley Woodley stopped a Gottwald shot that was headed for the back of the net.

Gottwald and the Warhawk offense persisted, earning a corner kick at 54:24. The kick sailed into the box and Wilkins headed it in to give the Warhawks a 1-0 lead, and Gottwald his team-leading sixth assist of the season.

North Park didn’t go away quietly.  The Vikings earned three corner kicks and fired off five more shots in the remaining 35 minutes.

Senior goalkeeper Josh Rohde earned his third shutout of the season and improved to 5-2-1. Rohde made three saves in the match to reach 100 career saves.

As a member of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, UW-Whitewater does have the opportunity to win the conference and conference tournament in the upcoming weeks.  However, since the WIAC does not have enough men’s soccer teams to qualify for an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III championship, a win like tonight’s, against a ranked, in-region opponent, is great for the Warhawks’ resume.

The Warhawks will return to the pitch on Sunday, October 12th when they travel to De Pere, Wis. to take on St. Norbert College in a match beginning at 1 pm.

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