Crusaders Lose to the Pioneers in the Regional Semifinals
Maranatha 1, Northland International 1
Northland 2, Maranatha 1 Penalty Kicks
October 31, 2009
CHICAGO – The Maranatha Crusader men’s soccer team was defeated by the Pioneers of Northland International University on Saturday afternoon in penalty kicks. The Crusaders end their season with a 5-12 record.
Junior midfielder Tim Solarek (Greenwood, Ind.) got the scoring started in the fourth minute when he buried a left-footed shot in the far corner off a nice pass from freshman forward Kevin Vigneault (Bow, N.H.). The Pioneers answered 13 minutes later when Micah Herron made an excellent shot to tie up the game.
In the back-and-forth game, senior goalkeeper Ezekiel Leeds (Fond du Lac, Wis.) made a huge save on a shot by Herron to keep the teams tied. As fitting a rivalry game, this one went into overtime for the second time this season. Northland won the first match in the closing minute of the first overtime period on Oct. 15 on a goal by Herron.
This time neither team scored in the overtime periods even though the Crusaders had a good scoring chance on a header. Therefore, the outcome depended on each team’s ability to finish on penalty kicks. The goalkeeper for Northland made some excellent saves, and Northland prevailed 2-1.
“It was a real good, hard-fought game,” Head Coach Jeff Pill said. “We were putting them under real good pressure, but our lack of finishing hurt us. Our backs played very well.”
The Crusaders (5-12) will now reflect on the lessons learned from 2009 and look toward the 2010 season. Northland International will move on to the regional championship game against Moody Bible Institute on Monday at 12:00 p.m. in Chicago.