GREEN BAY, WISC. – The Niagara men’s soccer defeated Eastern Illinois 2-0. The Purple Eagles (5-1-1) had to overcome another tough opponent in the Panthers (3-4-0) to finish with a 2-0 record at the Green Bay Soccer Classic.
“Eastern Illinois, like Green Bay, was very hard working and combative team,” head coach Chase Brooks said after the win. “They were just a hard to play against.”
In a repeat performance from Friday’s game, Callum Wilmott would open the scoring for the Purple Eagles (5-1-1) late in the tenth minute. Senior Carl Haworth found the freshman with a pass after a blocked corner kick by Bryan Da Cruz.
“Came out flat in the first half and got lucky to go up 1-0,” said Brooks. “We made some adjustments for the 2nd half.”
Half way through the second half, Haworth would score his second goal of the weekend after going in on a breakaway and beating Panthers’ goalkeeper Tyler Kelley. Junior Brett Petricek would make four saves to seal the win for the Purple Eagles.
The win extends Niagara’s unbeaten streak to six games and increase its shutout streak to 303 minutes.
“It was a nice win for our boys,” Brooks said. “It’s always nice to bring home a championship for the boys and it feeds the fire for the conference championship.”
Haworth, Wilmott, Petricek, and Mike Pass made the All-Tournament team for their performance in the Green Bay Soccer Classic.
Niagara will be back in action next weekend when it return home to take on Buffalo (4-2-1) on Sept. 23 at 5 pm.
