By: Stephen Wagner
GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – Junior Audi Jepson (Green Bay, Wis.) found the back of the net in the second-straight game for Green Bay, firing one past the keeper after teammate Cheenuj Shong (Milwaukee, Wis.) played it to Jepson on the right side of the box in the 35th minute, giving the Phoenix an early advantage in the first half. However, Western Illinois' forward, Conard Hager, turned in the equalizer late in regulation to tie things at 1-1. Neither team was able to convert shots into goals in the two overtime periods, resulting in the first draw of the season for both teams.
The early stages of the match found both teams testing each other's limits, as neither team fired a shot on target until the 32nd minute when WIU (0-3-1) fired one to the right side of the goal that resulted in one of Kyle Ihn's (Wales, Wis.) five saves. Ihn, Green Bay's (1-1-1) starting goalkeeper in all three matches this season, spent all 110 minutes protecting the net this afternoon and managed to allow only a single goal.
The goal scored by the Leathernecks' Hager in the 72nd minute was the first score in regulation time that Ihn and the Green Bay defense has allowed this season.
The first overtime period didn't provide either team a quality scoring chance, as neither team managed to record a shot on the mark in the 10-minute period.
The second overtime period saw Green Bay nearly net the game-winning goal on multiple occasions in the final minutes, as Jepson fired one wide in the 108th minute and high in the final 20 seconds of play, as the ball passed just over the crossbar to end the match.
Jepson's goal was the second of the season for the Green Bay native, with both of them being go-ahead goals in the first half of play. Jepson fired off seven shots in this afternoon's contest, four of which were on-goal. Shong's play to Jepson in the 35th minute garnered the Phoenix its first assist of the season.
Green Bay owned the offensive advantage in the match, recording 16 shots compared to WIU's 13 on the day. Green Bay also recorded four shots in the overtime period and allowed the Leathernecks no shot attempts.
The Green Bay men's soccer team will now turn its attention to the Grand Canyon Tournament next weekend, as the Phoenix readies itself for a matchup with host Grand Canyon on Friday followed by a game against Incarnate Word on Sunday.
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