Purdue University Northwest

The Purdue Northwest Men's Soccer team closed out non-conference play in thrilling fashion Saturday afternoon, battling past Walsh 3-2 on the road to remain unbeaten through four matches.

The Basics

• Records: Purdue Northwest (3-0-1, 0-0-0), Walsh (1-2-0, 0-0-0)
• Location: Larry Staudt Field - North Canton, Ohio
• Attendance: 225

Inside the Numbers

• Sophomore Landon Potts (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) scored twice for the Lions to lead the team.
• Sophomore Nikola Ivetic (Crown Point, Ind./Indiana Connections Academy) and junior Gianluca Franco (Orlando, Fla./Montverde Academy) each provided an assist on Potts' goals.
• Juan Martin Jersonsky (Vicente Lopez, Buenos Aires, Argentina/Instituto Propuesta Actual) scored his first goal of the season, with senior Brandon Young (Salt Lake City, Utah/West Jordan) earning the assist.
• Purdue Northwest finished with 18 shots, including six on goal.
• Walsh recorded 13 shots and placed eight attempts on target.
• The Lions held a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks? Wait, actually Walsh had 11 corner kicks compared to PNW's six.
• Freshman Estefano Alvear (Guayaquil, Ecuador/Unidad Educativa Monte Tabor Nazaret) played all 90 minutes in goal for Purdue Northwest, making six saves.
• Kostas Paxos led the Cavaliers scoring both goals.
• Walsh's goalkeeper, Nick Bertolini, recorded three saves.
• Purdue Northwest was called for 15 fouls, while Walsh committed five.
• The match featured seven cautions, with four issued to Walsh and three to the Lions.

The Breakdown

• Purdue Northwest wasted little time finding the back of the net, as Potts scored in the 11th minute off an assist from Ivetic to give the Lions a 1-0 lead.
• Potts struck again just over eight minutes later, scoring in the 19th minute with Franco providing the assist to double the PNW advantage.
• The Lions carried a 2-0 lead into halftime after holding Walsh scoreless throughout the opening 45 minutes.
• Purdue Northwest continued its strong offensive performance early in the second half, with Jersonsky scoring in the 67th minute off an assist from Young to push the Lions' lead to 3-0.
• Walsh answered in the 79th minute when Kostas Paxos found the back of the net, cutting the PNW advantage to 3-1.
• Paxos scored again in the 88th minute to make it a one-goal game and set up a tense finish.
• The Lions' defense held firm during the final minutes, turning away Walsh's late pressure to preserve the 3-2 victory.
• Alvear made six saves in the contest, including two in the second half, helping PNW withstand Walsh's late push.
• Purdue Northwest finished non-conference play unbeaten at 3-0-1 and has now won three of its first four matches.

Up Next

• Purdue Northwest opens conference play when the Lions hit the road to begin GLIAC competition at St. Cloud State on Thursday, September 17. Kick-off is slated for 1:00 PM CT in St. Cloud, Minnesota.