Highlight-Reel Goals Early and Late Power Trojans Past Cougars

Broadcast Highlights

UPLAND, Ind. – The Taylor men's soccer team (4-7-1, 1-2-1 CL) recorded its first Crossroads League victory of the season with a 2-1 win over Mount Vernon Nazarene (5-8-0, 0-4-0) on a crisp, breezy Saturday afternoon at Turner Stadium.

After fending off a pair of shots early from the visitors, it was Justin Devlin that brought the home crowd to its feet in the 11th minute with a 30-yard strike outside the top left corner of the box. Devlin's shot was perfectly placed between the crossbar, right post and the leaping six-foot, six-inch frame of Cougar goalie Bram Stolp. Brian Matipa was credited with the assist for his pass to the uncontested Devlin, whose goal was his third of the season to put him atop the team lead along with Brock Carpenter.

The Trojans struggled throughout the remainder of the first period with generating shots from their offensive chances, but their defense held up strong with swarming efforts from the backline and an impressive three-save half from Sam Spiegel.

Out of the halftime break, MVNU quickly tallied the equalizer as its aggressive attack continued. As the second half unfolded, the Cougars and Trojans traded chances as the TU offense kicked into gear, but the score remained 1-1 with the game clock winding down 

In the 79th minute, it appeared as though Caleb Ballard and co. had missed on a golden opportunity to take the lead when his shot barely missed high. Just a minute later, however, Ballard had a nearly identical chance set up by a nice combination from Liam Brennan, and he redeemed himself with a near-sided look that snuck in next to the right post for the eventual game-winner. Ballard's goal was the sophomore's first of his career, and it came at a crucial time.

MVNU would fire three more shots in the waning minutes, but none of them landed on target as TU held on for the win.

Taylor took its season-average 10 shots in the contest, with seven of them occurring in the second half. Ballard led the team with three shots (two on goal), all of which came within a three-minute span late in the match.

Spiegel picked up his fourth win of the season as he recorded five saves – his most since Sept. 2.

Head coach Gary Ross noted after the game that the Wednesday off day this week allowed his team "more time and energy to fix problems" and execute the game plan.

"Our plan was to let [MVNU] have the ball a bit. They like to get their numbers up and counter attack and we figured they would not be able to pick us apart if we took away what they liked. … So we sat back and didn't press very high and kept more numbers behind the ball," said Ross.

Taylor will look to keep momentum on its side when it begins a two-game road trip on Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 7p.m. at Huntington (4-4-4, 1-1-1).