LIVONIA, Mich. – After a well-played first half saw zeros on the scoreboard for both sides, a late second half foul inside the box led to the lone goal of the match for Madonna University. The late score was too much to overcome for the visitors of Spring Arbor University.

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: Spring Arbor 0, Madonna 1

LOCATION: Madonna Soccer Field | Livonia, Mich.

RECORDS: Spring Arbor 6-2-1, Madonna 7-0-0

HOW IT HAPPENED

• A tough-fought first half of play saw Cobi Piper tested early and often. The senior goalkeeper came up with multiple saves early on to keep the match scoreless.
• The second half was back and forth for the majority. Spring Arbor applied pressure on the Crusaders defense but could not create much of a scoring opportunity throughout the game.
• A late second half foul inside the box by the Cougars set up a penalty kick for the home team. Danny Swanson stepped up and slotted the ball in the lower right corner for his first goal of the season, and the first goal of the game. The goal would prove to be the game winner.
• Senior Cobi Piper was big between the pipes coming up with five crucial saves throughout the match.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

• Spring Arbor did not end their non-conference slate as well as it would have liked, losing two of its final three matches.
• Neither team registered a corner kick in the match. The Crusaders outshot Spring Arbor 12-9 with six shots on goal to the Cougars' one.
• The NAIA polls came out and the Cougars found themselves receiving votes for the first time this season.

FOR THE FOES

• Madonna had six different players record a shot on goal.
• Madonna tallied six fouls as a team throughout the match
• The win for the Crusaders keeps them perfect on the year as they move to 7-0.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH NATHAN MILLER

• "We finished our non-league play very poorly. We didn't play close to our potential and you lose to good teams when that happens."
• "It's about decision making right now and we have had some very poor ones to say the least."
• "I believe our team leaders will galvanize the guys and make sure that standards are met before we start conference play."

UP NEXT

Spring Arbor will travel to Upland, Indiana to kick off conference play with the Trojans of Taylor University (2-4-2). The match is slated to be played Saturday at 1 p.m.

Men's Soccer Contact: Chris Bauman | 517-750-6504 | christopher.bauman@arbor.edu
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