Men's soccer loses tight match to Marshalltown

The Western Iowa Tech men's soccer team had answers for Marshalltown's first two strikes, but a late Tigers goal downed the Comets in an entertaining match Saturday afternoon at South Sioux City High School.

The Comets (7-5-2, 1-3 ICCAC) outshot the Tigers 11-10 and had the edge in corners, 6-4, but Marshalltown managed the game-winning goal in the 85th minute.

"The way we lost was a tough way to lose," head coach Alex Scheuler said.

Beyond that, however, Scheuler was happy with the way the team responded after a couple of performances that he knows weren't indicative of his squad's best.

"Despite the result, this was the first time all year I felt we really fought, worked and clawed for the result," Scheuler said. "I finally saw guys fighting for the guy next to them and having each other's backs.

"For the first time in conference I felt like we were the more physical team."

Ben Shields scored in the 25th minute to tie the game at 1-1 after Marshalltown opened the scoring in the game's second minute. Gabriel Avellan scored another tying goal in the 50th minute, just one minute after the Tigers took a 2-1 lead in the second half.

Aran Vivar Hernandez assisted on both WIT goals.

Scheuler said Avellan, Shields and Hernandez have been critical to the Comets' attack, while Jared Magana has been a much-needed presence on defense and Vincent Rouzier has been setting the standard for work ethic.

"(The) most optimistic thing from the match was every player that played was only a freshman," Scheuler said. "Definitely something we can consider in growing experience both within the squad and within the program."

A sign of the team's growth was in the way the players not only stuck with the gameplan but also adapted to Marshalltown's unexpected switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation.

"Credit to the guys we put out there on understanding our plan tactically that we worked on in training, and even better that we were able to put it into practice," Scheuler said. "That was a huge step forward for us as a young team and program."

The Comets host Gillette College at 1:30 p.m. Monday, October 2, at Ruegger Field in Sioux City.

"If we can just keep this level of intensity, work rate and understanding of what we're trying to do tactically, we'll get a couple more wins out of our final six games and be able to really head into the off-season with some good momentum," Scheuler said.