Box Score

MADISON, Wis. – With their conference tournament hopes still up in the air, the Edgewood College men's soccer team took a step towards qualifying for the six team playoff on Thursday night. The combination of a solid defense and a Greg Dezell goal gave the Eagles a 1-0 victory over Maranatha Baptist.

For the first 25 minutes, play went back-and-forth with both teams having a few opportunities to score and Edgewood College (7-10, 5-5 NAC) outshooting Maranatha Baptist (5-10-1, 0-8-1 NAC) 5-3 in that time. Dezell put the only shot out of those eight on net, but it was saved by James Widner, the Crusaders goalkeeper in the 18th minute.

Only 12 minutes after Dezell put his shot on net, he broke through with a goal. Matt Pampuch crossed a ball from the top left corner of the box that ended up at the right post, where Dezell was jostling for position. Dezell jumped, got his head on the ball enough to redirect it into the net to give the Eagles the 1-0 advantage.

In the 41st minute, the Crusaders had their best scoring chance of the first half, but the Eagles' goalkeeper, Robert Huss, turned the shot away. Edgewood College countered with three scoring chances in the final four minutes of the frame. Andrew Aurit had two shots stopped, one in the 41st minute and anther in the final minute of the half. Dezell ripped another shot off Aurit's rebound in the 45th minute but it was blocked to send the game to halftime with the Eagles up 1-0.

The second half was a defensive battle, with their only being a total of only five shots in the half. Edgewood College took three shots, one being on net and turned away. Of the two Crusader shots, one was on net, but it was turned away by Kyle Koenig, who relived Huss in goal.

The Eagles outshot the Crusaders 11-7 in the game, but Maranatha Baptist took six corner kicks to Edgewood College's three. Dezell's goal was his third in as many games and his team-leading ninth of the season.

Edgewood College will wrap up their regular season on Tuesday when they host Concordia University Wisconsin. The Eagles will need to win that game, and get some help to make the conference tournament. Edgewood College will provide both live stats and live video for the 7:00 p.m. kickoff. Both links can be found on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com.