ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The Purdue Northwest men's soccer team fell 4-2 to St. Cloud State on the road Friday night in the Pride's first trip to Husky Stadium.
PNW had its three-match win streak snapped and moved to 6-5-0 (5-3-0 GLIAC). It was the Pride's first setback this season decided by more than one goal. The homestanding Huskies improved to 4-7-1 (3-5-0 GLIAC).
St. Cloud State took an early 2-0 lead with goals scored in the 16th and 20th minutes, before PNW finally caught a break with a
Ryan Moran (Attadale, Australia) goal to make it 2-1 at halftime. Both teams had several chances with a combined 21 shots on target in the match. PNW tallied a 12-5 edge in corner kick attempts.
Moran scored in the 41st minute, a left-footed strike off the bounce from a perfect through-ball sent in by
Diego Luna (Hanover Park, Ill.). It was Moran's team-leading fifth goal and Luna's first assist of the season.
Then, the game-tying goal was eventually scored by
Pau Aran (Spain) in the 77th minute. Aran made a run down the right side of the box and fired his second goal of the season into the top of the net from close range.
However, the Huskies were able to respond with the game-winner in the 81st minute and tacked on another goal in the 89th.
Moran,
Isaiah Nieves (Lyons Township, Ill.) and
Lucas Bravo Ollé (Barcelona, Spain) each registered multiple shots on goal for the Pride.
Goalkeeper
Sebastian Contreras (Joliet, Ill.) logged a season-high six saves.
UP NEXT
PNW is right back in action Sunday when it travels for a 2:30 p.m. match in Fayette, Iowa against Upper Iowa University – exactly one month after the Pride shutout the Peacocks 3-0 in Hammond.
