GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay men's soccer team clinched a Horizon League Tournament berth with a 3-1 victory over the Oakland Golden Grizzlies Saturday afternoon at Aldo Santaga Stadium. GB's last appearance in the Horizon League Championships was in 2019.
The Phoenix was down 1-0 at halftime but ripped off three unanswered goals in the second half to improve to 7-3-5 overall and 4-2-2 in conference play. Oakland dropped to 6-8-2 overall and 5-3-0 in Horizon League action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Green Bay had a slow start on offense to begin the contest, with Oakland outshooting the Phoenix 4-1 in the first 21:30. GB was able to apply pressure for nearly seven minutes, stringing together four shots over that span. However, the Golden Grizzlies struck the first blow in the 34th minute when Mikey Ketteman scored on a penalty kick. Hesron Barry had committed a handball after trying to clear the ball, which set up the PK. Keegan Walker attempted to tie the game before the break, recording a shot on goal in the 39th minute, but he was stopped short by a stout Golden Grizzlies defense.
The Phoenix came out of intermission looking like a different team. A barrage of goals started in the 49th minute, when Chris Album buried his team-leading seventh goal of the season, thanks to a penalty in the box on Oakland. Just 10 minutes later, Walker struck for the lead score off a corner kick. A wild sequence led to the goal: first, officials initially ruled a goal kick after the ball appeared to go out on Andrew Paolucci. Then the call was reversed, giving GB the corner kick opportunity. Parish lifted the ball into the box, caroming off Rohin Kapila before finding So Nishikawa. Nishikawa sent a quick pass back to Kapila, who sent a shot off the crossbar. Walker was in the perfect position for the go-ahead score, heading the ball into the back right corner.
Parish would be part of another crucial score later in the half, tallying his second goal of the season in the 67th minute. Oakland had a half-dozen chances in the final 15:32 of the contest, but Green Bay held the Golden Grizzlies to just one shot on goal en route to a 3-1 win.
GAME NOTES
- GB has just one more shot than Oakland (15-14).
- Each team's goalkeeper tallied four saves.
- GB had 11 corner kicks to Oakland's three.
- Walker led the Phoenix with six shots, leading all players, while Album tallied another five.
COMING UP
Green Bay will conclude the Horizon League regular season next Wednesday in a clash of in-state rivals. The Phoenix will travel to Milwaukee to take on the Panthers at 1 p.m. Watch the contest on ESPN+ or follow with live stats. GB can potentially clinch the No. 1 seed with a victory and an Oakland tie or loss, or a tie and an Oakland loss.
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