UIndy men’s soccer drops to third in the GLVC
By Erik Kispert
Staff Writer
The University of Indianapolis men’s soccer team (9-3-2, 5-2-1 GLVC) missed three opportunities to stay in first place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
On Oct. 5 the ‘Hounds lost to Northern Kentucky University (NKU). Senior goalie Matt Spaulding saved three goal attempts from NKU. In the end, NKU scored the only goal in the game.
The ‘Hounds gave up their undefeated GLVC streak on Sept. 30 against Lewis University. The match was defensive throughout and went into overtime scoreless, Lewis scored a goal within the first minute. Senior Ben Reed took two shots on goal, while senior John Higgins and sophomore Diego Lemus each had one.
A match at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside ended in a 2-2 tie in overtime on Sept. 28, the Greyhounds’ second tie of the season.
Sophomore midfielder Jacob Follis said the Greyhounds played a strong game against Lewis, but they failed to finish their opportunities in the box.
“Our style of play is more aggressive,” said Follis, who said he is listed on the roster as a midfielder but acts as a forward on many plays. “But their defenders did a good job of keeping us from setting up many good shots.”
Another problem the team encountered during the Lewis game was the type of field on which the game was played in, Follis said.
“We’re used to an artificial turf for home games and Lewis’ field is grass. So that was an adjustment that we had to make,” Follis said.
The width of the field also made it difficult for the Greyhounds to run their preferred style of offense, Follis said. The team often exploits the sidelines and works the ball inside, but on such a narrow field this strategy did not work as well as it usually does, according to Follis.
Follis said that head coach John Griffin often tells his players that they need to focus on playing “a full ninety minutes”.
“Working through momentum shifts that aren’t in your favor is difficult, but it’s something we need to do,” Follis said.
Results for the Bellarmine University match were not available as of The Reflector press time.
The Greyhounds go back on the road to take on the University of Missouri-St. Louis on Oct. 24 and the University of Missouri-Rolla on Oct. 14.
