DEERFIELD, Ill. – Junior Stevenson Storm scored a pair of goals to lead the Spring Arbor University men's soccer team to a 2-1 season opening win over Trinity International University on Thursday evening.
The Cougars had to wait a few extra minutes to finally kick off their 2014 season due to a 30-minute weather delay before the match, but it didn't take long for lightning to strike once the action got underway. In the ninth minute, freshman Austin Rahman found Storm who beat the Trojan goalkeeper from 16 yards out to tally his first goal of the season.
Rahman nearly found the back of the net himself in the 32nd minute, after fellow freshman Jake Sterling played a ball across the middle of the box, but his shot bounced off the crossbar.
The Trojans had a great chance just before halftime to level the score, but the shot went just wide.
The Cougars continued their solid play in the second half and were rewarded in the 58th minute when senior Riley Luttenton linked up with Storm for his second goal of the night.
It didn't take long for the home team to respond, however, quickly challenging SAU netminder Cobi Piper. Piper made a great save in the 60th minute to keep the Trojans off the board, but TIU capitalized on a Spring Arbor miscue in the 61st minute to narrow the deficit to one.
The Cougars regrouped though and continued to pressure the Trojans earning a series of corner kicks. The chances kept coming for SAU and the team came close to pushing its lead back to two when Mitchell Simon found Rahman with a cross, but his header attempt sailed over the goal.
Spring Arbor outshot Trinity International 17-10 on the night and owned a 13-3 advantage in corner kicks. Senior Billy Irvine, who played the first 45 minutes in goal, made a pair of saves while Piper finished the match with five stops.
"It was very important for us to start with a good result, but more importantly a good performance," said head coach Nathan Miller. "We were impressed with how the guys handled the weather delay and the pitch conditions. Young guys really stepped up with some guys still working their way back."
"Stevo had a fantastic game, he was unstoppable. If he plays and works like that all year, we will be in a good place as a team."
The Cougars return to action on Saturday, Aug. 23 when they face off against Roosevelt University at Toyota Park beginning at 6 p.m. EST.
- Cougar Nation -
