Men’s Soccer vs. Cleveland State | Photo by Christian Peters | The Wright State Guardian
After a long battle trying to secure their spot in the Horizon League tournament, Wright State University (WSU) Men’s Soccer fell just out of reach of the postseason after their loss to the Detroit Mercy Titans.
The Raiders end the season 7th in the Horizon League standings, tied for 6th with the Robert Morris Colonials (RMU), but losing the tiebreaker because of a loss to RMU earlier this year.
Because a 6th place finish is needed for a playoff berth, the Raiders needed a win or a tie over the Colonials to secure their spot, but a heartbreaking 0-1 loss ended their chances.
Season highlights
Coming into the last two games of the season, the Raiders needed a win and a tie to guarantee a playoff berth, but it seemed impossible for the squad.
Their second-to-last match was against Cleveland State, the team who was first at the time in the league standings with an 8-1 record in Horizon League play.
WSU pulled off a miracle on Senior Day, as a hat trick from Reece Allbaugh won what seemed like an impossible game 4-3 after they were down 2-3 in the 87th minute.
The team seemed to have a knack for pulling off wins incredibly late, as they beat the Northern Kentucky Norse earlier in the season with 11 seconds to play in double overtime, as a Harvey Slade header off of a corner kick stunned their opponents.
However, the team’s biggest showing was against Marshall, the team currently ranked #1 in the Nation. Not only did the Raiders play with Marshall, but they also held them to an incredibly close game, only losing 0-1.
League Player Awards
While the Raiders were not able to make the postseason this year, their player awards show a bright future for several of their younger players.
In the second team, Fifth Year Harvey Slade and Sophomore Reece Allbaugh represented the midfielders and forwards for the Raiders.
Slade earned his spot off of starting every game he played for WSU, and from winning their game over NKU with a last-second header.
Allbaugh shocked the league with his performance against Cleveland State, scoring a hat trick against one of the best ranked teams in the league.
Rounding out the League Player awards is Brock Pickett and Connor Osterholt, who both earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team.
Osterholt played in every game for the Raiders this year, starting in nine, and Osterholt only missed one game this year and started in seven.
With bright young players on the roster, the Raiders will look to do what they were unable to do next year.
