Soccer | Photo by Soham Parikh | Edited by Kayli Thompson | The Wright State Guardian
The Wright State University men’s soccer team took on its rival on Saturday evening, edging out a 1-0 victory.
The history
WSU leads the all-time series in the Northern Kentucky University-WSU rivalry 13-4 dating back to 1982. Since the Norse joined the Horizon League in 2015, the Raiders are 5-2 against the team.
“We know that NKU and us are always physical with one another, so we have to be prepared,” Head Coach Jake Slemker said.
The match
WSU leads the Horizon League in total shot attempts with 33 coming into Saturday night; the Raiders showed no signs of slowing down, putting up 17 shots in the match.
Both teams had a difficult time burying the ball in the net, despite the large sum of shot attempts. In minute 39, WSU’s Joe Kouadio assisted sophomore Brock Pickett, who sank the lone goal of the match.
“Joe was able to put a good cross in, and I was able to find it and put it in the corner,” Pickett said.
WSU goalkeeper Sebastian Jimenez ranks 22 nationally and second in the HL with 30 total saves. Jimenez added nine more saves to this tally against NKU, shutting the opponent out. The goalkeeper now has three games this season with at least eight saves, a new career best.
“I’m just grateful to have these defenders in front of me. They were putting in the work for sure,” Jimenez said.
Slemker commented on Jimenez’s performance.
“He has been confident, and he came off his line and controlled the box when he needed to,” Slemker said.
The match was very physical with 27 total fouls and four yellow-cards.
“We just found our second set of legs to get the win,” Pickett mentioned. “We know every time we go into a Horizon League game, it is going to be a brawl.”
Significance of Saturday’s victory
After Saturday’s winning effort, WSU is now 2-0-1 in HL play, tied with Robert Morris for first place in conference standings.
“I think our confidence is at an all-time high,” Pickett noted. “I don’t think we could be in a better spot going into the next couple games.”
WSU will now go on the road for two HL matches next week, facing off against Milwaukee on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. followed by a trip to Robert Morris on Saturday at 2 p.m.
