GREEN BAY, Wis.
(GREENBAYPHOENIX.com) - The Green Bay (1-0-0) men's soccer team kicked
off its 2010 season with a 2-1 win over DePaul (0-1-0) Wednesday. The Phoenix
came from behind, scoring both of its goals in the first period in what was a
defensive second half.
"It's a great win, especially after going down early. The
guys persevered and showed some resilience," said head coach Tom Poitras.
DePaul scored early in the contest (8:36), when Matt
Leinauer scored off a free kick. Leinauer laid the ball into the right side of
the net for the 1-0 advantage.
"As soon as we gave up a goal we really stepped it up at the
end of the first half," said Poitras. The Phoenix did "step it up" when David Bernhardsson (Tjorn, Sweden) took
a shot at the 14-minute mark. Bernhardsson's shot was saved by a DePaul
defender and rebounded by AJ Konchar (Cedar
Rapids, Iowa) who shot the ball into the right corner of the net from the left
side of the box, knotting it up 1-1.
With less than two minutes to play in the first half,
freshman Mackenzie Lund (Hudson,
Wis.) made his presence known when Scott
Raymonds (Brookfield, Wis.) dribbled the ball down the right side and
passed to Lund on a fast break near the left side of the box. Lund scored the
header, planting the ball in the right corner and giving Green Bay the go-ahead
2-1 goal.
"He's a worker and a real confident kid, I'm not surprised
he finishes for us after being moved from the defender to the forward position,"
said Poitras of Lund's performance.
Lund may not have looked like a freshman on the field when
he scored the goal, but he felt like one after the fact, "I was in shock and I
really didn't know how to celebrate," said Lund laughing.
Green Bay outshot DePaul 10-1 in the first half with Bernhardsson
leading the way with four shots while Konchar added two.
The second half was a defensive battle as the Phoenix
controlled the ball most of the period allowing DePaul just five shots while
Green Bay fired 13 times, "after losing three players in the backfield from
last year's team the guys adjusted well after the early score and really
stepped up," Poitras said about his team's defensive play.
Goalie Ryan Wehking (St.
Louis) finished the contest with five saves and perhaps the biggest coming with
0:17 remaining. DePaul's Austin Toth fired a great shot to the right side of
the night only to be stopped by Wehking with the big save.
"So many thoughts ran through my head in that split second
when the ball came off his foot. I just took two quick steps left, collected it
and run out the clock," said Wehking.
Green Bay outshot DePaul 23-6 and 5-2 on corner kicks. Bernhardsson
led the Phoenix with five shots in the game while JC Banks (Milwaukee, Wis.) added four and Tony Walls (Wauwatosa, Wis.) three.
The Phoenix will host Oregon State Saturday, Sept. 4 at 7
p.m. at Aldo Santaga Stadium.
