GREEN BAY, Wis.
(GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Already having clinched the No. 2 seed in next
week's Horizon League Championship, the Green Bay (12-4-1, 6-2-0 HL) men's
soccer team played solid, shutting out Wright State (4-12-1, 0-7-1) 3-0 Saturday
at Aldo Santaga Stadium in its regular-season finale.
The win was the eighth consecutive for the Phoenix and
fourth shutout throughout its winning streak. "Even though we have the No. 2
seed in the tournament, we still wanted to come out and play well today," said
head coach Tom Poitras.
Two of Green Bay's goals were scored in the first 30 minutes
of play as the Phoenix controlled the half on both sides of the ball.
At 6:56, AJ Konchar (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) scored the first
goal from the upper left corner outside the box. Konchar laid the ball in the
lower right corner of the net to give the Phoenix the early 1-0 lead.
Near the same spot as Konchar scored, Tony Walls (Wauwatosa,
Wis.) also fired a shot to the lower right corner of the net, boosting Green
Bay's lead 2-0 at the 28:19 mark.
Green Bay outshot Wright State 11-5 and 5-0 on corner kicks
in the first half of play. David Bernhardsoon (Tjorn, Sweden) led the way with
three shots while Walls, Konchar and Scott Raymonds (Brookfield, Wis.) each had
two.
In the second half, freshman Sam Krenzien (Wauwatosa, Wis.)
scored his fourth-career goal when the Raiders' goalkeeper stepped out of the
box. Konchar tapped the ball to Krenzien on the left side of the box who
boosted Green Bay's lead 3-0.
Walls led all players with four shots, two on goal, while
Bernhardsoon and Anthony Santaga (Green Bay, Wis.) added three.
Every player dressed for Green Bay played at least six
minutes as the Phoenix outshot the Raiders 11-9 and 4-1 on corner kicks in the
final period.
Green Bay's eight-game winning streak is the longest since
the 1992 season as well as during Poitras' time as coach. Before the game,
Poitras and his team honored the seven seniors who have led Green Bay to three
Horizon League Championship games.
"This is such a great class, hard-working and a lot of
character," said Poitras. "They've shown great leadership throughout the years
and we just hope we can continue to see them play for many more games."
Green Bay will now prepare for post-season play which begins
with the second round of the Horizon League Championship hosted by No. 1 seed
Butler on Friday, Nov. 12 in Indianapolis.
Friday's game time has still not been determined. Green Bay
will play the highest remaining seed from Tuesday's opening round.
