The Case Western Reserve University men’s soccer team opened their pair of home games with a match against Trine University on Friday, Sept. 13.

It was a tough game for the Spartans as both teams went scoreless for a majority of the match before a goal by Trine with 13 seconds remaining in the game forced the team’s record to fall 2-2.

Despite leading in shots and shots-on-goal, the Spartans were unable to find the back of the net with the Trine goalkeeper recording 4 saves. However, the Spartans had a chance to make their comeback the following Sunday in their match against Stockton University.

The atmosphere on DiSanto Field was intense, with the Spartans taking on a more offensive play. However, despite the Spartans leading in shots and ball possession for most of the half, Stockton notched the first goal of the game in the 25th minute. The rest of the half went scoreless and the Spartans trailed 0-1 going into halftime.

The Spartans gained a penalty shot in the 63rd minute after a foul in the box. With a penalty kick from graduate student midfielder Kellan Landefeld, the hosts tied the score 1-1. The tally marked Landefeld’s first goal as a Spartan.

Ten minutes later, Stockton took the lead with another goal. However, the Ospreys’ advantage did not last long. Thirty-six seconds later, first-year midfielder Ashton McNally notched his first collegiate goal, once again tying the score for the Spartans. McNally fired the shot past the goalkeeper after first-year forward Amir Awais deflected a pass from second-year defender Cormac Apostolides, who had just sent the ball to the middle of the box in front of the net. Both Awais and Apostolides recorded their first career assists with the goal.

“I wasn’t even really expecting to go in at first, but I think someone on our team was a little injured, so I ended up going in. When I came onto the field, I just felt confident that I could do good, and then ended up scoring, which felt really good,” McNally said.

The Spartans then earned another penalty kick, resulting in fourth-year forward Kysen Kroeger scoring from the spot, giving CWRU the advantage for the first time in the contest with just over five minutes left in the game.

The last few minutes of the match remained tense as the Ospreys occupied the Spartan end. However, the Spartans emerged victorious, defending their opponents’ attack and clearing a corner kick which solidified their win 3-2.

“I feel like it was a really good team performance and a really good comeback, since we had a tough loss earlier that week. I felt like this was a big win for all of us to kind of reconnect together and become like a team again,” McNally said.

The Spartans led in shots with both McNally and fourth-year midfielder Lukas Dalakis, contributing 2 shots and seven other players making attempts for the goal. In front of the net, third-year goalkeeper Stephen Vilardo played all 90 minutes, facing 9 shots and recording 2 saves. With the win against Stockton, Vilardo recorded his first collegiate win as goalkeeper.

Captain and fifth-year defender Josh Cook commented on the key factors leading to their win over the Ospreys.

“I think Sunday, we just dealt with adversity a little better. We went down 1-0, and then came back 1-1. We went down 2-1 and came back. And we had a lot of guys come off the bench and really give us an energy spark,” he commented.

Cook also commented that Sunday’s match also gave the opportunity for the younger players to come off the bench.

“I think just seeing some of the younger guys come in and really have an effect on the game, that’s great to see going forward, because we’re gonna need everybody with how long the season is and guys staying healthy. So knowing that you have that depth is very important,” he said.

The squad will be on the road this weekend with a match against No. 23-ranked Denison University on Sept. 21. They will return to DiSanto for a home game against John Carroll University the following Wednesday, Sept. 25.