By: Jill Wunrow
GreenBayPhoenix.com
GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - In
the opening contest of his final season at Green Bay, senior goalkeeper Ryan Wehking
(St. Louis, Mo.) achieved one more of his career goals. Having already
accomplished playing in an NCAA Tournament, Wehking recorded his program-record 20th shutout in Green Bay's (1-0) 1-0 regular season opening win over Northern
Kentucky (0-1) Friday at Aldo Santaga Stadium.
"The
shutout record was a goal I've had before I even stepped foot on campus and to
reach that goal and get that monkey off my back was great," said Wehking. "It's
also a record for the other defenders I've played with throughout my entire
career here and shows a lot about the Green Bay mentality of not giving up
goals."
The
win was also the first for Green Bay's new head coach Dan Popik and the seventh
consecutive regular season win for the Phoenix on its home field, dating back
to Sept. 18, 2011.
"It
feels great to come out here and get the first win of the season. Our goal this
season was to be the hardest working team and put in effort for the entire 90
minutes and these guys gave everything they could tonight," Popik said. "It was
a good team effort, wasn't the prettiest at times but it was effective and with
a win at home, you can't ask for anything else."
The
lone goal of the contest came with 38:32 to play in the second half when an NKU
defender mishandled the ball and Kirby Allen (Appleton, Wis.) picked it up on
the top left side of the box. NKU goalie A.J. Fleak stepped up in the box,
allowing Allen to score the goal in the lower right corner.
Green
Bay finished with seven shots and four corner kicks while Wehking registered
two key saves in the intense contest. Both teams fired four shots in the
opening period. Junior Ahmad Bah (Brooklyn, Minn.) led the Phoenix with two
shots while NKU's Brendan Murphy led the game with four shouts.
NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE... Green Bay hosts
Marquette (1-0) Sunday at 3:00 p.m. at Aldo Santaga Stadium in a contest that
will be shot for rebroadcast on Time Warner Cable Sports32 Monday, Aug. 27 at 7
p.m. The Phoenix will wrap up its three-game homestand Friday, Aug. 31 as it
hosts Northern Illinois at 6 p.m. at Aldo Santaga Stadium. The Phoenix will
then play its following four contests on the road beginning at Niagara Sept. 2.
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