IW soccer battles in conference opener

BURLINGTON — Iowa Wesleyan men’s and women’s soccer hosted Waldorf University on Saturday with both contests marking the beginning of Continental Athletic Conference (CAC) play.

Both teams battled in the opener as the women were able to start off conference play with a win, 2-1, over the Warriors. On the boys side, the Warriors struck early, but a late goal by the Tigers pushed it to a 1-1 tie.

It wasn’t an easy road, as the women completed the comeback to get their first CAC win.

The Tigers put pressure on the Warriors goalkeeper over and over throughout the first half, but could never break open the scoring.

Instead it was Waldorf that took the opening goal advantage in the 30th minute as Katie Cooling slipped the ball into the back of the net to put the Warriors up 1-0. The goal would stand, sending the Tiger into halftime down one.

Iowa Wesleyan would answer, but it didn’t come quickly. It wasn’t until the 74th minute that the Tiger’s resiliency final led to a goal. Jacqueline Campos was taken down in the box and was awarded a penalty kick. Campos did not disappoint as she put the ball past the keeper to make it 1-1.

Just three minutes later Baylee Alvarado would give the Tigers control of the game. Alvarado got the ball past the Warrior defense and delivered with the goal to put the Tigers up 2-1. The goal proved to be the game winner.

The Tigers outshot the Warriors 17-8 in the game, including 9-6 in shots on goal.

The Tigers improve to 4-5 on the season and extend their win streak to two games. Kylie Mulhern-Guillern had 5 saves for the Tigers defensively.

The Tigers will look to continue their hot streak when they travel to Coe College on Wednesday, Sept. 28 in Cedar Rapids at 5 p.m.

On the boys side, the Tigers and Warriors sent a plethora of shots at the net, but neither team could find the back of the net as the game was all tied up at the break.

Much like the girls match, it was Waldorf who found the back of the net first. The Warrior’s Goitom Kidane was able to add a goal to his belt in the 60th minute to give his squad a 1-0 lead.

With their back against the wall and the 90th minute just three minutes out, the Tigers needed someone to step up and Richard Arch answered the call.

Arch was able to put the ball in the back of the net in the 87th minute to knot the game at 1-1. The game would end with the two teams at one as no one was able to score in the final three minutes.

The Tigers moved to 2-7-1 on the season. They were led offensively by Richard Arch with one goal on five shots. Defensively, Alvaro Morera finished with seven saves for the Tigers.

The Tigers will look to pick up a win as they host the Trojans of Hannibal-LaGrange University in Mediapolis on Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m.