Men's soccer wins second straight home match

Two days after securing the first home win in program history, Western Iowa Tech's men's soccer team won its first against an NJCAA opponent.

The Comets (3-2-1) beat State Fair Community College (Sedalia, Missouri) 2-1 Saturday evening at Bishop Heelan High School's Memorial Field. The Comets out-possessed, out-shot and out-chanced the Roadrunners (0-1-1), who were playing their second match of the season.

Freshman midfielder Tyler Witter opened the scoring in the 23rd minute when the Comets defense forced a turnover and Andre Pinheiro found Witter for the goal.

"Really proud of the guys," head coach Alex Scheuler said. "Tonight was a different challenge but overall I thought we coped well. This was one of those results we really had to grind out and work for with effort and determination." 

State Fair played a direct style of game, looking to push the ball forward quickly, but the Comets were up to the task. Scheuler was pleased with how the Comets maintained their defensive discipline to deal with the Roadrunners attack.

WIT held a 2-0 lead after a Ryder Delport free kick found the top corner in the 32nd minute.

State Fair's Alfred Poulter got the Roadruners on the board 7 minutes later when he was able to maneuver wide past WIT goalkeeper Aimar Aramendia and hit the open net from the left side of the box. Poulter's goal was the third strike in a 16-minute span that contained all of the game's scoring.

Aramendia finished with four saves in his 90-minute effort. The Comets had eight shots on goal to the Roadrunners' five.

Scheuler also heralded Thomas Olivera, Tyler Witter, Angel Diaz and Vincent Rouzier for their smart, measured play that kept the Comets in control.

WIT next hosts Metropolitan Community College (Kansas City, Missouri) at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Ruegger Field in Sioux City.