ASHLAND, Ohio – The Ashland men's soccer team chipped in two goals in the first half and carried those to a 2-1 win over Northwood in a GLIAC game on Friday (Oct. 1) night at Ferguson Field.
The Eagles (7-2-0, 5-0-0 GLIAC) got goals from freshman Louis Clark (Brighton, England/Hove Park) and junior Andrew Iden (Marysville, Ohio) in the first half.
Clark's came at the 2:09 mark when he drilled a cross from senior Mike Kennedy (Liverpool, England/Ormskirk/Manchester Metropolitan University) into the left side of the net. It was Clark's team-leading seventh goal of the season and Kennedy's fourth assist, which is tied for the team lead.
In the 35th minute, Iden headed in his third goal of the season and third in the last two games off a cross into the middle by Clark for his first assist of the season.
Ashland took the 2-0 lead into halftime, but early in the second half, the Timberwolves (3-4-2, 1-3-2 GLIAC) began to force the game into the AU end.
Just 87 seconds after halftime, a Northwood player was pulled down in the penalty area and Chen Tzfania converted on a penalty kick to trim the Ashland lead in half.
The Eagles chipped away the minutes by holding possession at key times, including most of the final two minutes when Northwood was liable to press forward.
The game lacked much of a rhythm, mostly due to 37 fouls called. The teams also combined for eight cards in the game. The Ashland defense was able to fight through the haphazard play and not allow a goal in the flow of normal play.
Ashland sophomore keeper Justin Nolan (Medina, Ohio/Highland) made three stops in the game for the Eagles.
AU out-shot Northwood, 14-11, and held a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Timberwolves goalkeeper Matt Renouf made two saves in the game.
Ashland will play its third straight home game on Sunday (Oct. 3) when it hosts Saginaw Valley State in a GLIAC contest that is scheduled to kick off at 2:30 p.m.
AU
MSOC/BB
