Wright State Men's Soccer | Photo by Bethany Althauser | The Wright State Guardian
The Wright State University men’s soccer team returned home Wednesday to host arch-rival Northern Kentucky for the 2023 regular season finale. The Raiders would cruise to a 5-1 victory that earned them the sixth and final postseason spot in the Horizon League.
The stakes
As Wednesday approached, the Raiders found themselves tied for last place in the HL with 8 points from a 3-8-5 overall record and a 2-4-2 record in conference play. With a win on Wednesday, the club would find themselves in a tie with Robert Morris for the sixth and final playoff spot. WSU drew a 1-1 tie against RMU on Oct. 7 this season, resulting in a tie-breaker to be decided from a match where the Raiders won 2-0 at Green Bay on Sept. 30; RMU had only tied with Green Bay.
The Raiders entered Wednesday holding the all-time record against the Norse, leading 13-4 in the series and winning each of the last three meetings.
Do or die
The Raiders came out wearing their new black kits and looked hungry from the moment the match started.
In just the second minute of the match, WSU managed to advance the ball inside NKU’s box from a throw-in. As the ball was looming around, senior Jacob Adams struck it into the top right of the net for the first goal of the match. Little did he know, his day was not finished.
In the 39th minute of play, both teams remained scoreless after Adams’ first goal. That was until Adams added a second. The senior midfielder’s two goals marked his second and third on the season, with his first occurring on Sept. 12 against Eastern Illinois.
The early spark to the game could not have come to a more deserving player. On senior night, Adams was victim to a handball that bounced up at him, giving Detroit Mercy a penalty kick that would win the match in the final five seconds of play.
“I just thought I was in the right place at the right time for both of them,” Adams said about his goals. “We are not defined by our flaws, we are defined by our response. I had a lot of good teammates pick me up after that moment, and that really helped me and gave me confidence to keep pushing.”
The Raiders took a 2-0 lead into halftime after producing eight shots, eight of which were on target, in the opening half. Despite going scoreless, NKU salvaged seven shots with four being on target. WSU goalkeeper Alessandro Malterer had four big saves to preserve the lead before the break.
“In the first half, the big thing was when we score, we can’t concede right away. That happened last game against Cleveland State, and we really wanted to put that to an end,” Malterer said. “There were a couple times where I had to make myself big and take one.”
Wright State dominated the first half with four corner kicks, giving the offense several chances to grow the lead. NKU only managed a single corner in the half.
In the back half of the match, NKU became more physical in their play, nearly doubling its penalties with seven in the second half.
In minute 63, freshman Henry Hutchinson was pulled to the ground, granting the Raiders a penalty kick. Senior Reece Allbaugh was selected to take the shot, and he buried it in the right side of the net to move the lead to 3-0. The goal marked the fifth on the season for Allbaugh, good for the team lead.
With a comfortable lead, the Raiders kept the pedal to the metal. In the beginning of the 84th minute, Conner Osterholt added to the tally with his fourth goal of the season. NKU responded by adding its first goal of the game in the same minute.
With a 4-1 lead, the Raiders capped off their day after senior Dominic Ruffolo captured his first collegiate goal.
The Raiders routed the Norse by a final score of 5-1, scoring five times on 21 attempts. The five goals scored were the most goals WSU has scored in a match since November 2019.
Second life
The Raiders finished the regular season with a 4-8-5 overall record, going 3-4-2 in HL play and edging past RMU for the final tournament spot.
“Our guys were just ready. They stayed connected, they stayed together, and that is why we got the result we had today I think,” Head Coach Alex Van der Sluijs stated. “It is kind of 'back from the dead' mentality. With our backs against the wall, things look pretty grim, but we gave ourselves a chance today.”
The Raiders will travel to IUPUI on Sunday for the first round of the HL tournament. WSU fell to the Jaguars 2-0 in September of this season.
Viewers can watch the post-season action on ESPN+ at 1 p.m.
