HUNTINGTON, Indiana - The Marian College men's soccer team traveled to Huntington University on Monday afternoon in a matchup that would decide the No. 8-seed at the Mid-Central College Conference Tournament. A win and the Knights were in, but a loss would see them on the outside of the bracket.

 

The Knights started quickly and had scoring opportunity in the first eight minutes. Junior Spencer Squires (Monroe, Michigan/Monroe) broke loose after receiving a through ball and pulled the goalkeeper off his line. He moved past the goalkeeper and attempted a shot toward the open net. However, his attempt went wide of the mark.

 

Senior T.J. Rauch (Guilford, Indiana/East Central) also broke free into the 18-yard box and pulled the goalkeeper off his line. He touched the ball over the goalie, but the defense had caught up and cleared the ball away.

 

The match was physical early on and the Knights controlled the first half with the majority of action in the offensive end. The problem of not finishing their chances plagued the Knights just as it had all season. The match went into the locker room tied, 0-0.

 

In the second half, the relentless, cold wind now faced the Knights and made an already daunting task that much more difficult.

 

The teams battled and Huntington had the majority of chances, but the Knights squeezed a couple in there early. Freshman Conner DeLong (Indianapolis/Lawrence Central) used the wind and fired a shot into a hard wind that hung the ball in the air. It carried toward the upper right 90 only to see the goalie parry the attempt away. However, sophomore Troy Lock (Madison, Indiana/Madison) got on the end of the loose ball and tried to center a cross, but was denied by the defense.

 

The Knights defense finally conceded to the pressure and Huntington was able to tally the match-winning marker with just over five minutes remaining in the match to send it into the tournament, 1-0.

 

The Knights finished the season with a 3-13-1 overall record and an 0-7-1 mark in MCC play.