Greencastle, Ind.- The DePauw men's soccer team notched a big win after beating the Trine University Thunder 3-2 at home.
DePauw pressured Trine early in the first half, forcing the Thunder's backline to play on its heels. In the 21st minute,
Chase Brieger skipped a pass just in front of
Sam Thiel for a one-touch goal to put the Tigers up 1-0.
The Tigers' second goal stretched the entirety of the pitch, starting with a cross from
Nick Mourouzis in DePauw's own half to
Alex Backhaus, who set
Tye Williams up for his first collegiate goal.
Up 2-0, just three minutes later, Williams slipped a ball past the Thunder defenders to
Jack Powers, who put the ball into the back of the net and extended the lead to a comfortable three goals before the half.
In the second half, however, Trine managed to claw its way back into the game. In the 53rd minute of play, Tyler Murphy scored on a penalty kick following a red card and subsequent ejection of
Samuel Renggli. Playing down a man for the remainder of the game, the Tigers adjusted quickly and maintained their two-goal lead until the 78th minute, when the Thunders' Ryan Cote chipped in a pass from Jared Cromwell in a congested box to put Trine within one.
Looking for its first win since beating Olivet 5-1, DePauw played tactful final minutes of regulation to close out the game.
The Tigers outshot the Thunder 15-12, with ten of its shots taken in the first half; however, Trine got the edge in corners recording five to DePauw's three.
In goal,
Alexander Lundin finished the night with four saves, while the Thunders' Aidan McGonagle recorded five.
The Tigers move to 4-2-3 for the season and open conference play on the road this Saturday, September 24, in Springfield, Ohio, to face Wittenberg. The battle of the Tigers is set to start at 3:30 pm EDT.
