The University of Southern Indiana men's soccer team notched a 4-3 win over Brescia University this evening at Strassweg Field despite being a man down the last 48 minutes of the match. With the win, the Screaming Eagles raise their record to 2-1 while the Bearcats of Brescia fall to 1-1 on the season.
Junior forward
Aaron Joppek (Portage, Indiana) got the Eagles off to a quick 1-0 (30:43) start after knocking a rebound into the Brescia net. Fellow classmate
Brian Peroutka (St. Louis, Missouri) got the play started with a pass to sophomore forward
Matt Settles (Evansville, Indiana). The Evansville native had his shot deflected, only for Joppek to capitalize on the rebound. Both Peroutka and Settles were credited with an assist.
Ten minutes later, the Eagles were on the board again after sophomore midfielder
Steve Hendrickson (Granite City, Illinois) used a pass from junior back
Kevin Ray (Ballwin, Missouri) to pick up his first goal of the season.
However, it took the Bearcats less than 20 seconds to answer the Eagles' call as they cut the lead to 2-1 off a goal by junior back Paul David Hayden. Hayden's goal came off an assist by fellow classmate Fabio Lixandrao.
USI was dealt a major blow at the 41:40 mark of the contest as
Aaron Joppek was tagged with a red card, giving the opposition a one-man advantage for the rest of the match.
It did not take long for Brescia to capitalize as freshman Durand Engineer scored on a corner kick from teammate Jonathan Velotta at the 46:10 mark. The Bearcats gained a 3-2 advantage 23 minutes later with a goal from freshman Federico Gastelu off a pass from teammate Alvin Benjamin.
However, the Eagles quickly answered as
Brian Peroutka scored off a pair of passes from Ray and senior forward
Ed Pieper (St. Louis, Missouri) with less than 10 minutes to go in the contest.
With just under three minutes to go, Pieper recorded the winning goal off a rebound from a Settles' shot. Settles, along with junior forward
Duncan Bray (Sandwick, Scotland) were credited with assists on the play.
The Eagles, who are above .500 for the first time since being 4-3-1 midway through the 1999 season, will face Lincoln University Saturday, September 8. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Strassweg Field.
