GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com)
- The Green Bay
(3-2-1) men's soccer team closed the Green Bay Soccer Classic in thrilling
fashion with an overtime goal to capture the 2-1 victory over Dayton (1-6-0) Sunday
at Aldo Santaga Stadium. The goal came with just over five minutes remaining in
the second overtime period off the foot of freshman Kirby Allen (Appleton,
Wis.) who made a break down the left side of the field.
"I saw the
opportunity against the goalie. I thought he was going to come out, I took it a
touch wide and he went back and I just kept my composure and just drilled it at
the goal and put it in," said Allen. "I've had other goals that have come down
to the last second but nothing as big as this."
"Kirby is
the type of player that is known for his explosiveness and his speed," said
head coach Kris Kelderman. "We were hoping for a play just like that to happen
and he got great touches on the ball."
Prior to
Allen's goal in the 104th minute, Green Bay did not score since the 27th minute
when Sam Krenzien (Wauwatosa, Wis.) got a long pass from Tony Walls (Wauwatosa,
Wis.) on the right side of the field. Krenzien scored the header goal from the
left side of the box to give the Phoenix the 1-0 lead at the break.
"I thought
we had good control of the game from the start, the first half was very good,"
Kelderman said. "With the goal we scored, we got ourselves to a good spot at
halftime."
In the first
half Green Bay outshot the Flyers 11-2 while both teams had one corner kick
each as Krenzien paced the Phoenix with four shots throughout the opening
period of play.
In the 51st
minute Green Bay was issued a red card for a penalty in the box, forcing the
Phoenix to play with 10 players the remainder of the competition.
"It was an
unfortunate play but the guys came together and fought," said Kelderman who
picked up his first home victory as head coach of the Phoenix.
Green Bay's red card penalty led to Dayton's only goal of the
contest off a free kick situation.
The Phoenix
outshot the Flyers 20-3 in regulation and had three corner kicks compared to
Dayton's one.
In the first
overtime period, Dayton outshot the Phoenix 3-0 and had one corner kick as the
Flyers' defense kept Green Bay silent.
In the final
overtime period, Luke Goodnetter (Elm Grove, Wis.) took a great shot at the
goal but was a bit wide. Green Bay's second and final goal of the game was the
thrilling game-winning shot by Allen.
"What I'm
most proud of is that I felt that we got stronger and better as the game went
on," Kelderman said. "We challenged ourselves after the Niagara game on Friday;
we have to consider ourselves winners and I think we did just that by the way
we responded."
Green Bay
finished the game outshooting Dayton 22-7 and 3-2 on corner kicks. Krenzien led
the Phoenix with seven shots while Goodnetter added four.
The Phoenix
will open Horizon League play Saturday, Sept. 24 as it hosts Loyola (1-4-1) at
7 p.m. in its annual Alumni Game at Aldo Santaga Stadium.
All-Tournament Team: Eleven players were
selected by coaches to the Green Bay Soccer Classic All-Tournament Team. From
tournament champion Niagara - Carl Haworth, Callum Willmott, Mike Pass and
Brett Petricek. From Eastern Illinois - Jake Brillhart, Mike Picinich and Chris
Bowswell. From Green Bay - Tony Walls, Lawrence Talery and Kirby Allen. From
Dayton - Jack Pearson.
###
Season
tickets and Fall Sports Passes are now on sale for men's soccer, as well as
women's soccer and volleyball. Season tickets for each sport are available for
$25 each, or a Fall Sports Pass can be purchased for admission to all three
sports for just $50 for an adult and $25 for a youth pass. For more information
and an order form, click
here.
