After Wright State men’s soccer coach Bryan Davis and Athletics Director Bob Grant honored the program’s seniors, the Raiders put on a show dominating IPFW in a 3-1 win Wednesday at Alumni Field.
“Tonight was a great way to celebrate them, and they played a very good game,” Davis said. “For me, (the seniors) are so important. We had two (recruiting classes) before them, but they changed who we were as a program.”
The Raiders improved to 9-5-1 on the season including a 7-1 record at home. WSU awaits its home finale Saturday against UIC. A win against UIC Saturday would likely allow the Raiders to clinch a berth into the Horizon League’s postseason tournament.
WSU had control of Tuesday’s match from the get-go. Wright State senior Bryce Rockwell-Ashton scored in the 23rd minute off a pass from fellow teammate and Fort Wayne, Ind. native Michael Hayes to give WSU a 1-0 lead.
“That was him 2011 blowing by guys,” Davis said. “Bryce is a special talent. Injuries have held him back a bit but he has the chance to have a great finish to his senior year.”
Rockwell-Ashton sat out the 2012 season as he took a medical redshirt. Getting to score in front of his parents on Senior Night was a special moment for Rockwell-Ashton.
“I have gone all year goalless and I came back from the redshirt a couple years before, I was just trying to get one under my belt and happened to come against my hometown (university),” Rockwell-Ashton said. “
Twenty minutes after Rockwell-Ashton’s goal, Brett Elder found Peguy Ngatcha to give WSU the 2-0 lead going into halftime.
For the better part of 70 minutes, the Raiders dominated.
In the 74th minute, a couple of bad passes and runs led to a IPFW breakaway that cut the Raiders lead to 2-1. The shot was IPFW’s only attempt on goal. Meanwhile, the Raiders went back to work.
Wes Cain setup Avery Ball for his first goal of the season in the box to allow WSU retake the 3-1 lead in the 77th minute. IPFW could not muster another rally the rest of the match.
Saturday will be a challenge for the Raiders as the program is 0-5-1 against the Flames under Davis. Since defeating UIC twice in 2004, the Raiders are 0-9-3 against the Flames.
“Tonight was a good preparation for UIC,” Davis said. “They play a bit like UIC. For us, it is a good fine tune.”
