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Purdue Fort Wayne
Marian
Harper Era Begins with Exhibition Win
8/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 22, 2007
Fort Wayne, IN - First year IPFW men's soccer coach Mike Harper got things going on the right foot, as the Mastodons topped Marian College, 1-0 in an exhibition match at the Hefner Soccer Complex.
Junior forward Adam Beckett took advantage of a misplayed ball by Marian keeper Ben Weddle, at the 72:33 mark, to give the 'Dons the exhibition win.
IPFW controlled most of the play throughout the match, as the Knights were content to counter and attack off the long ball.
Marian got a terrific scoring chance just 1:23 into the match. Off of a free kick, junior midfielder Gabriel Peters launched a header to the short side. IPFW keeper Josh Howell made a diving stop, clearing the ball aside.
Howell would come up with two more big saves in the match, the last with just 3:15 remaining.
Marian senior forward Drew Dallas got a nice redirect off of a pass from inside the 16. His shot was also headed for the short side, but Howell made another nice lunging save to his left.
Beckett was able to make a bit of his own luck on the only goal of the match. As a loose ball came back to Weddle, in the box, Beckett made just enough of a move to make Weddle take his eye off the ball. Beckett pulled in the loose ball and punched it into the open net.
Weddle, like Howell, stopped three shots on the evening, two of those coming off the foot of senior defender Evan Coss.
IPFW will open the regular season on Friday night, August 31, hosting St. Joseph College in a 7pm match at Hefner.
~Dons~
