Cougars fall 4-2 in Spring Arbor’s first prime time game
The atmosphere in the packed stands at the Spring Arbor University’s first soccer game under the lights was ecstatic, but the Spring Arbor University (SAU) Cougars (5-5-3) couldn’t contain the Taylor University Trojans (12-1-0). Despite outshooting Taylor in the first half, the team struggled to maintain their high-paced play and mistakes led to a 4-2 defeat.
Trojans’ forward Tyler Beachler (11) devastated the Cougars in the second half, scoring two goals to secure the victory for his team. Beachler’s final goal came at the 5:19 mark as he split two defenders during a breakaway to boot the ball in, while his first goal was a result of a corner kick at 22:04.
Although Taylor did manage to score twice, SAU sophomore keeper Ryan Stephens (1) made several saves during the second half to limit the Trojans’ damage—his biggest being a diving catch with 8:32 remaining to keep the Cougars within one goal.
At the end of the first half, the Cougars appeared to be on their way to completing a thrilling comeback, scoring two unanswered goals to tie the game 2-2. Freshman Joel Musambi (6) opened Spring Arbor’s scoring at 21:01 after a maneuver between two defenders. Less than ten minutes later, sophomore Giovanni Sturla (7) tied the game at 12:42 with a hard kick from the left side during a breakaway.
Taylor took advantage of some early mistakes by the Cougars to take a quick 2-0 lead. First year Coach Eric Rudland said he believed that this was the difference in the game.
“In a game like this it’s about not making mistakes and unfortunately the goals we gave away tonight were results of bad plays,” Rudland said. “If we can minimize the little mistakes, maybe a game like this starts to go our way.”
Senior captain Jason Klepal remained optimistic despite the score. “It’s always frustrating to lose a game like that. Down 2-0 and coming back shows a lot of heart, [they] just got one goal right at the end. One good thing out of this is that we showed we can play with the top team in the conference, so it looks good for us to play the next game and carry it in to the postseason.”
The Cougars now hold a 2-2 record in conference play with five games remaining in the regular season, all against conference rivals. They will face off against Mount Vernon Nazarene University this Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Coach Rudland said he also feels confident in his team’s ability down the stretch of conference play. “Yeah, we’re in the fire!,” Rudland said. “It’s the first time through the league for me but every game is going to be competitive. We know where we stand now, so that gives us something to shoot for.”
Klepal said he especially enjoyed playing in front of packed stands under the lights. “I’m glad I had a chance to do this before I graduated; it was a lot of fun. I’m really grateful for the fans… thanks, guys!”
