Sunday, November 03, 2002

Valparaiso's hopes of sharing the Mid-Continent Conference men's soccer title were dashed on Sunday afternoon as the Crusaders fell to Western Illinois 2-1 in Macomb, Ill.

Daniel Bustos put the Leathernecks in front with 1:03 remaining in the first half as he dribbled through defenders and found the back post.

Cam Shepherd added his first goal of the season at 71:25 to give Western Illinois a two goal lead.

Ben Olson (Oregon, Wis./Oregon H.S.) cut the lead in half at 81:34 as Mark Korba (Portage, Ind./Portage H.S.) drew the assist, but Valpo was unable to tally the equalizer.

The Leathernecks outshot Valpo 16-12 for the match, holding a 10-8 advantage on net. Jeff Oleck (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral H.S.) made eight saves for the Brown and Gold, while Chris Frenz made seven stops for Western Illinois (8-9, 3-2 Mid-Con).

Valparaiso (5-9-2, 2-2-1) is idle for two weeks until the Crusaders square off with Western Illinois in the Mid-Con Tournament semifinals on Nov. 15 in Rochester, Mich.