Purdue Fort Wayne
Huntington
First Minute Goal Enough as 'Dons Win 1-0
9/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 9, 2009
Fort Wayne, IN - If you showed up late, you missed it. The popcorn was still in kernels and the crowd was still wandering in from the parking lot as junior forward Casey Bowman's game-winning penalty kick found the back of the net just 44 seconds into the match, lifting the `Dons over Huntington University, 1-0.
An early whistle in the Forester box gave Bowman the free kick and he confidently converted on his team-high second goal of the season.
And that was it.
A strong defensive performance from the back-line and a barrage of Mastodon offense, in which IPFW out-shot Huntington 16-6, held the final lead for the remaining 89 minutes of action.
Junior keeper Donovan Dowling tallied his second clean sheet of the season in the three-save performance.
Dowling and the Mastodon crowd were given a few scares late in the match, though. Forester junior forward Steven McKay fired a shot off the post and teammate Jared Boyd was there to follow it up. But in swooped Dowling to take it off the toe of Boyd, preserving the one-goal advantage.
The `Dons came close to extra time again with the clock rolling inside of five minutes, as the Foresters argued and lobbied for a hand-ball whistle in the box. Play continued on and despite a last-ditch effort in which Huntington sent keeper Kevin Keske into the offensive action, the final horn sounded and the `Dons sealed the 1-0 victory.
Junior Raphael Martinez led IPFW with three shots on the match.
The Mastodons hit the road this weekend as they travel south to play in the Wingate Inn Classic in Rock Hill, S.C. They will take on the Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb Friday evening (Sept. 11) at 5 p.m. on the campus of Winthrop University, before a Sunday match with the host Eagles at noon.
~Dons~
