Wright State clinched a berth into the Horizon League Championships following the Raiders’ 2-1 win versus UIC last Saturday that marked WSU’s first win over UIC in a decade.
Wright State avenged its loss from the Horizon League semifinals last season against UIC.
WSU head coach Bryan Davis said he was happy to finally beat UIC, but the program’s history versus the Flames was not something he emphasized before Saturday’s match. It was Davis’ first win over UIC since joining the program in 2009.
“We have had great years and lost to them,” Davis said. “They have done well historically. For me, I pulled the monkey off my back; it is nice to finally beat every team in the conference.”
The Raiders and Flames played an evenly matched first half that gave way to an energetic second half.
“I can’t be more proud of the energy and the belief of this group,” Davis said.
After a 1-1 score at halftime, the Raiders played a dominating half of soccer outshooting the Flames 13-4 in the second culminating in a Peguy Ngatcha goal. Ngatcha took a cross from Eric Lynch and beat all UIC defenders to lift WSU to a 2-1 lead in the 68th.
“I am killing him, getting in his face at halftime and he is talking to me and he is unconfident and you know what he does? He puts the game-winner away,” Davis said about Ngatcha. “That is belief.”
“This game was really important for us,” Ngatcha said. “I really liked the group and how we reacted. The first half wasn’t quite what we expected. We came back, got our confidence back and we finished the game well.”
Davis said the team received a spark off the bench from Avery Ball who assisted Ngatcha in his goal.
“It was a team effort,” Ball said. “For us, it was a must win. We wanted to control our own fait that we’re going to be in the tournament. That was extremely important to put everything on the line.”
Wright State got on the board first as Eric Lynch’s free kick went off the crossbar but landed on the foot of defender Jake Stovall who buried his fifth of the season in the 29th minute. UIC responded eight minutes later with a goal of its own as Sergio Fuentes tallied from inside the box to knot the game at one.
UIC outshot WSU 5-3 in the first half.
Wright State concludes its Horizon League slate Saturday at Oakland. A win gives WSU a good opportunity to host a first-round matchup on Nov. 10.
“Definitely having another game here at home is extremely important,” Ball said. “We are so used to our field and we have a great record at home.”
The Raiders went 8-1 at Alumni Field during the regular season.
