The Illinois Wesleyan University men's soccer team ended its season with a 2-1 loss to Macalester College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, November 15. The match took place at Macalester Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Illinois Wesleyan finished the year with a record of 13-3-2, setting a new program record for wins and making its second appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Macalester improved to 16-4 and will advance to play either the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire or Milwaukee School of Engineering in the next round.
Macalester scored early, finding the net just two minutes into the game after capitalizing on a turnover by Illinois Wesleyan. Zach Liptzin scored for Macalester following a series of passes that left him with an open shot.
Macalester continued to press offensively but was held off by senior goalkeeper Sam Kedzior, who made his only save of the match about fifteen minutes after the opening goal. The score remained 1-0 at halftime.
In the second half, both teams' defenses limited scoring chances until Illinois Wesleyan's Daniel Smazil missed high in the 67th minute. Shortly after, Kuba Ferguson extended Macalester's lead to 2-0 with a shot from distance that deflected off Kedzior’s hands before going in.
Illinois Wesleyan responded late in regulation. With under five minutes remaining, Ben Lyons delivered a corner kick that eventually found Ryder Coleman, who scored to cut the deficit to one goal. Despite increased pressure from Illinois Wesleyan in the final moments, Macalester’s defense prevented any further goals.
Both teams finished with eight shots each; Macalester had one more shot on target than Illinois Wesleyan.
The match marked the end of collegiate careers for several Illinois Wesleyan seniors: co-captains Nick McCully and Jerry Smazil; goalkeeper Sam Kedzior; Peter Basta; Lucas Tran; Kalabi Kamau; Cristian Schmidt; Logan Tierney; and Brayden Gemaehlich. This group helped lead Illinois Wesleyan to two CCIW Tournament Championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances during their time with the program.
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