On Wednesday, Sept. 25, under the DiSanto Field’s lights, the Case Western Reserve University men’s soccer team faced off against No. 24-ranked John Carroll University. For the Spartans, this was a highly anticipated match, as for the past three years they have tied with their crosstown rival.
The Spartans notched the team’s first goal after third-year defender Phillip Washington passed to unmarked fourth-year midfielder Lukas Dalakis, who fired a shot from outside the box into the lower left corner of the net past the Blue Streaks goalkeeper. With the play, Dalakis achieved his first goal of the season, and Washington earned his first career assist.
During the last minute of the first half, the Spartans defended against John Carroll’s frantic attack, keeping them off the scoreboard. Despite the Blue Streaks keeping up the momentum going into the second half—making 5 shots within the first 10 minutes of the half—the Spartan defense held out.
With just a little over 10 minutes left in the game, second-year midfielder Sean Wilson recorded the second and final tally of the night, doubling the CWRU’s advantage. Wilson received a short pass from second-year midfielder Ohta Kamiya in the middle of the box before centering the ball and taking a strike into the net. With the play, Kamiya had his second assist of the season.
Despite John Carroll doubling the Spartans in shots with a total of 16, the Blue Streaks were unable to find the back of the net. Third-year goalkeeper Bradley Winter recorded 3 saves for his third shutout of the season. Washington, fifth-year defender Josh Cook and second-year defender Cameron Thayer contributed to the clean sheet while playing all 90 minutes in the contest.
“It’s nice to win after three years of time,” Dalakis said. “We worked hard for 90 minutes, it was good to get a result.”
On Saturday, Sept. 28, the Spartans played against the University of Mount Union in their second match of their three-game homestead.
The Spartans started the game off strong when third-year midfielder Camden Larson notched the team’s first tally during the seventh minute. After a give-and-go with graduate student midfielder Kellan Landefeld, Larson advanced to the middle of the field and fired a shot approximately 30 yards from the net. The ball deflected off a Mount Union player before landing in the back of the net. Larson recorded his first goal of the season.
Ten minutes later, the Purple Raiders cut their deficit, bringing the board to 1-1 after scoring on a corner kick. However, the Spartans responded just as quickly. Just over eight minutes later, Dalakis scored his second goal of the week. In a smooth play, Larson sent the ball to fourth-year forward Kysen Kroeger, who passed to second-year midfielder Adam Pluszczyk. Pluszczyk then delivered a through ball to Dalakis, who made the final shot into the goal. With the play, Pluszczyk scored his third assist, tying for team lead, and Dalakis had his second goal of the season. With the two goals made in the past two games, Dalakis was named UAA Men’s Soccer Offensive Athlete of the Week.
Despite the Spartans leading 2-1 going into halftime, they were unable to find the back of the net for the rest of the match. During the 58th minute, Mount Union was awarded a penalty kick that they converted from the spot to bring the final score to a draw.
Offensively, Mount Union led the game in shots with 11 over CWRU’s 7. However, the Spartans recorded more shots on goal with a total of 4.
The squad will begin UAA conference matches with their first game against New York University this Saturday, Oct. 5, on DiSanto. Kickoff is set to begin at 1:30 p.m.
