HAMMOND, Ind. — The only thing better than beautiful fall weather on Monday was the performance displayed by Purdue Northwest Men's Soccer. The fourth-seeded Pride blew by fifth-seeded Upper Iowa 5-0 at Dowling Park for PNW's first-ever victory in the GLIAC Men's Soccer Tournament.
With the quarterfinal win, PNW advances to play top-seeded Parkside in Racine, Wis. on Friday in the semifinal round. The Pride victory proved historic in many ways, including the program's largest margin of victory in five years of playing at the NCAA Division II level.
"It felt good to get this win," head coach
Ryan Hayes said. "It's a bit of a relief to get past the quarterfinals after tough results in the past. With the group of individuals and coaches we have, it's not surprising that we are moving on. They make up a great unit and we are only successful because of how well they work together as a unit, not because of any one individual. We'll celebrate this victory and shift our focus to Friday's matchup against a very tough opponent in Parkside."
Isaiah Nieves (Lyons Township, Ill.), who is PNW's all-time career points leader, led the way with five points including a career-high three assists and a goal. The senior midfielder ran his team single-season record total to 27 points with 13 assists and seven goals.
Nieves chipped in both crosses that led to a pair of header goals by
Ariel Navarro (West Haven, Conn.) and
Harrison Hooper (Noosa, Australia) to put PNW up 2-0 at halftime. Both goals came off a set piece from the right side of the pitch. The Pride started slow as Upper Iowa dominated possession in the early portion of the match. But, the two header goals from Navarro and Hooper shifted the momentum dramatically.
In the second half, Nieves kept things going with his goal in the 51st minute. PNW would keep its foot on the gas and kept pressuring the Peacocks, which lead to two more goals scored by
Benjamin Barrette (Kenosha, Wis.) (79') and
Christian Booth (Mississauga, Ontario.) (81').
Lucas Bravo Ollé (Barcelona, Spain) and
Josue Espinoza (Chicago, Ill.) were each credited with assists during the onslaught.
Goalkeeper
Sebastian Contreras (Joliet, Ill.) recorded two saves as PNW finished with an 8-2 edge in shots on goal. The Pride also logged an impressive 7-1 advantage in corner attempts.
The shutout win marks the fifth clean sheet of the season and the first postseason shutout for the PNW men's soccer program. It's also the second postseason win during head coach
Ryan Hayes' career. Hayes led PNW to a 5-0 win over Judson in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference quarterfinals in 2016.
PNW moved to 3-0 over Upper Iowa this season - outscoring the Peacocks by a combined score of 11-1.
UP NEXT
PNW will travel to Racine, Wis. for Friday's semifinal where it will take on the host and top-seeded Rangers. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. CST at Pritchard Park.
Parkside received a bye in the quarterfinal round after claiming a share of the regular season GLIAC title. The Rangers carry an overall record of 13-3-2 (10-3-1 GLIAC) including a pair of wins over PNW. The Pride fell 1-0 in overtime in its match against the Rangers in Kenosha earlier this season.
