Men's soccer wins fourth straight

The Western Iowa Tech men's soccer team extended its win streak to four games with a pair of shutouts this week.

The Comets beat the Riverland Community College Blue Devils 4-0 on Friday afternoon in Austin, Minnesota, and the Metropolitan Community College Wolves 2-0 at Sioux City's Ruegger Field on Tuesday.

Friday's clean sheet was shared between Victor Goscinski and Aimar Aramendia, while Goscinski earned a 90-minute shutout in his first college start in goal on Tuesday against the Wolves.

The Comets have outscored their opponents 11-1 over the past four matches.

"Defensively, very proud of both goalkeeps combining for another shutout in net," head coach Alex Scheuler said. "Our backline is playing well keeping opponents from scoring, giving us the chance to win."

The Comets also shared the goal scoring on Friday, with Gabriel Avellan (16th minute), Ben Shields (29'), Sebastian Alacid (40') and Josh Banner (82') all finding the back of the net. Only Avellan's goal was assisted (Shields) while Shields' and Banner's scores came via penalty kick.

Each team had eight shots on goal Friday.

"(We) did a great job creating chances throughout, however (we) still weren't clinical enough in the final third," Scheuler said. "We must improve our finishing and decision making in front of goal if we want to beat the top teams we have on the schedule coming up.

"Overall, like most of our recent games, solid but not a perfect performance, but still trending in the right direction for a young program."

While WIT's attack netted three goals in the first half on Friday, Tuesday's result was in doubt until the game's final minutes.

Despite outshooting the Wolves 14-3, the Comets didn't break through until Shields' goal following proficient ball movement from Aran Hernandez and Avellan in the 82nd minute. Andre Pinheiro received a through ball from Hernandez to score in the 89th minute.

Scheuler lauded his team's display of depth over the recent hot streak. 

"Many players have stepped up when called up," he said. "(I) love our options in the squad, it's just about continuing to improve in everything we do, and being very detail oriented as the season moves on."

The Comets have two non-conference matches before they begin their ICCAC schedule. Scheuler said he thinks the momentum created by the recent run of success can continue when they open conference play against Scott Community College at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 16, at Sioux City's Ruegger Field.

First, WIT travels to Sioux Center to face Dordt JV at 6 p.m. on Monday, then to Worthington, Minesota, to take on Minnesota West at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.