MADISON, Wis. – Goals sometimes come from unexpected places. That was the case on Wednesday night, as the Eagles received goals from two players who hadn't scored this year in a 3-1 victory over Wisconsin Lutheran College. Defender Ryan Henry scored twice less than two minutes apart in the first half, and Victor Lombardino scored his first goal of the season in unorthodox fashion.
Edgewood College (9-4, 4-3 NACC) got on the board in the 13th minute. A Warrior foul just outside the left corner of the penalty area gave Garrett Lee a free kick. His perfectly weighted ball, found the head of Henry whose diving header nestled inside the left post. It as Henry's first goal as an Eagle after playing two seasons and scoring nine goals for Madison College.
He didn't wait long for his second goal. The Eagles earned a corner kick just over 90 seconds later. This time Lee's corner kick travelled across the front of the net and was headed back toward the middle by Henry Simon. Simon's pass found Henry again with a diving header into the right side of the net for a 2-0 Edgewood College lead.
After halftime Wisconsin Lutheran College (5-8-1, 1-5 NACC) began to put offensive pressure on the Eagles. The Warriors earned corner kicks and recorded the first five shots of the half, three of which were saved by Eagle goalkeeper Brandyn Storhoff. Strangely though, the Eagles first shot of the second half wasn't even really a shot.
In the 64th minute, Wisconsin Lutheran was attempting to clear their penalty area, however, Lombardino jumped in front of a Warrior defender attempting to clear the ball. The ball ricocheted off his body, over the keeper and into the net for his first goal of the season.
The Eagles seemed ready to cruise to a victory, but the Warriors drew a foul in the box in the 72nd minute. WLC's Connor Schodorf converted the penalty kick for his second goal of the year, and cut the Eagles lead to 3-1. Edgewood College nearly added to their margin, but Simon's 84th minute penalty kick was saved and Lee's long distance blast over the Warriors' goalkeeper sailed right.
Lombardino led the Eagles with five shots including four on goal as Edgewood College outshot Wisconsin Lutheran 17-11. Jordan Stark also had five shots for the Eagles, who won their third straight match. Brandyn Storhoff made four saves to improve his record in goal to 3-1 on the season.
After three straight games at home, Edgewood College faces a stiff road test this Saturday. The Eagles will pay at NACC co-leader Dominican University in a key match for determining the possible NACC Tournament fate of the Eagles. Game time is set for 12:00 noon.
