WINONA LAKE, Ind. – The No. 14 ranked Spring Arbor University men's soccer team clinched its second consecutive Crossroads League regular season championship with a 2-0 win over Grace College on Wednesday night at 1st Source Bank Field. 

With the victory, the Cougars have secured the No. 1 seed and home field advantage throughout the upcoming Crossroads League Tournament.

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: No. 14 Spring Arbor 2, Grace 0

LOCATION: 1st Source Bank Field | Winona Lake, Ind.

RECORDS: Spring Arbor 13-3-0 (7-0-0 CL), Grace 10-3-3 (4-1-2 CL)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Spring Arbor was able to exact a bit of revenge Wednesday evening after falling to Grace in last year's Crossroads League Tournament championship match. The win was the seventh straight for the Cougars and their second consecutive shutout.
• Roderic Green wasted little time getting SAU on the scoreboard, finding the back of the net less than four minutes into the match.
• Despite heavy pressure from the Lancers, who held a 9-4 shot advantage in the first half, the Cougar defense and goalkeeper Michael White made the lead hold heading into halftime.
• Spring Arbor added to its lead moments into the second half when Jacob Crull converted a penalty kick.
• White finished the match with five saves to record the clean sheet.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH NATHAN MILLER

• "Congratulations to all the guys. What an achievement and journey together that is only beginning!"
• "It wasn't the prettiest game. Far from it. Grace is very talented and has very dangerous players. They are a good side."
• "We knew they would press very, very high given the final last year, so getting behind them and using our qualitative advantage we had in the final third with Morris, Roddy, and Janum."
• "I'm just so proud of the guys and how hard they worked. They defended incredibly well, won so many challenges and were impeccable in our defensive third. This is a special group. Completing three titles in a row is very special and a massive challenge to tackle - champions!"

UP NEXT

Spring Arbor closes out the regular season with home matches against Marian University (7-6-1, 3-4-0 CL) on Saturday, Oct. 20 at 4 p.m. and Huntington University (8-5-3, 3-2-2 CL) on Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m.

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