Senior
forward Steve Shively (Indianapolis, Ind./North
Central) scored both Crusader goals on Tuesday evening as Valparaiso
defeated IPFW 2-0 in Fort Wayne,
Ind.
With the
pair of markers, Shively
now has five goals on the season, tied for the team lead and giving him 18
career goals, which is tied for sixth-most in Crusader men’s soccer
history. When his four assists are
factored in as well, the senior has a career-high 14 points on the season and
now has 41 career points, tied for eighth all-time at Valpo.
“It is
great to come out with another win on the road,” said Crusader head coach Mike Avery. “I thought we played really well in the first
half. In the second half, IPFW put us in
under a bit more pressure; their #12 (Max Touloute) was especially very good
and was giving us a hard time one-on-one.
But we kept our composure and battled, and finally found the goals we
needed to get for the win.”
The
teams played to a scoreless first half, as Valpo out-shot the Mastodons by a
7-4 count in the opening 45 minutes.
IPFW started to build up the pressure on the Crusader defense early in
the second half, getting off three shot attempts in the first nine minutes,
including one attempt that ricocheted off the post.
But it
would be Valpo that hit the scoreboard first in the 63rd
minute. Stefan Antonijevic (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson [College of Lake
County/Marquette] made a nice tackle on an IPFW player in the Crusaders’
offensive end for a takeaway and got the ball to Shively. The senior drove into the box and then let a
shot fly from 12 yards that beat Mastodon netminder Donovan Dowling to the left
for the game’s first tally.
Shively would add his second goal with
just seconds remaining in the contest.
With IPFW taking a free kick in its offensive half, the Mastodons pushed
Dowling up into the box looking for the equalizer. Ken
Perkins (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy)
gained possession for Valpo and sent a lead pass ahead to Shively, who converted on the breakaway empty
net opportunity for his second two-goal game of the season.
IPFW
(4-10-2) held a slight 13-12 advantage in total shots on the night, but the
Crusaders put four attempts on frame to just two for the Mastodons. Ryan
Schwarz (Rockford, Ill./Boylan Catholic) stopped both IPFW
shots on goal for his fourth shutout of the season, while Dowling also made two
saves for the Mastodons.
Valparaiso (7-6-1) continues its three-game road trip with
a return to Horizon League action at Milwaukee
on Saturday evening. Kickoff is slated
for 7 p.m., and live stats will be available through www.valpoathletics.com.