ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's soccer team went to battle with Ohio Northern University on Wednesday evening, but ultimately fell 2-0 after a hard-fought match. The Thunder are now 1-3-2 overall on the season while the Polar Bears of Ohio Northern improve to 4-3-1.
The teams would trade opportunities in the opening minutes, with Ohio Northern putting one on frame in the third minute and the Polar Bear defenders blocked a chance by freshman Landon Moreland. In the remainder of the first half, the Thunder put together a quality effort on a corner kick, but Ohio Northern would clear the ball after a scrum inside the box.
Trine was outshot in the first 45 minutes by a tally of 6-1, with goalkeeper and senior Aidan McGonagle making three first half saves. At the start of the second half, the Thunder had their best chance to take the lead of the day.
Senior Tyler Murphy was fouled inside the box and gave himself a penalty kick less than one minute in. The try by the program's leading NCAA DIII goal scorer was turned away by the opposing goalkeeper to preserve the shutout.
Sophomore Gavin Hardy was able to get a touch on two set pieces inside the box for shots, but both were unable to find the back of the net. The defense for Trine would stand tall until a corner kick in the 72nd minute resulted in a score for the visitors.
The corner was sent right in front of the net where the opposing player was able to get his head on the ball, but the post sent his shot away. The Polar Bears were able to find paydirt on the loose ball to go ahead 1-0. They would take advantage of a mistake in the 80th minute as well to get to the final tally of 2-0.
At game's end, the goalkeeper McGonagle faced 10 shots on goal and made eight saves, a new career-high.
After a pair of home matches, the Thunder hit the road once more to face Kenyon College on Saturday, September 23 at 3:30 p.m.