The Truman State men’s soccer team came back from a two-game losing streak to win its home opener against its GLVC rival, the Maryville University Saints, by a final score of 1-0. After the victory, the Bulldogs lost their next game against the University of Missouri-St. Louis Tritons the next day to end their first weekend of conference play.
Senior midfielder Corey Nolte scored the winning goal against Maryville on a penalty kick during the 16th minute after junior midfielder Tyler Luebbert was fouled in the penalty box, earning Truman its first win of the season. The Bulldogs notched three shots on goal during the first half of the match.
Redshirt freshman defender Joel Reft was issued a yellow card during the 55th minute, and later, in the 64th minute, a second yellow card —resulting in a red card and an immediate ejection from the contest. This ejection left only 10 Bulldog players on the field against Maryville’s 11 for the remainder of the game. Freshman goalkeeper Drew Orf did not allow a single goal following Reft’s ejection and earned his first collegiate shutout.
“It felt awesome to get my first shutout under my belt at the collegiate level,” Orf says. “It wasn’t an individual effort. The team worked hard to protect our goal the whole time, making my job easier. It wasn’t just my first shutout, it was our team’s first shutout this season.”
The last time the Bulldogs and the Saints met, Maryville edged out Truman 1-0 with a goal off the post during the 68th minute. After last weekend’s victory, Truman now has a 7-4 all-time record against Maryville. After the victory against Maryville, head coach Duke Cochran needs only three more wins to become the all-time winningest soccer coach in Truman Athletics history.
Sophomore forward Jeremy Rehagen says even though it was a tough game, it was nice for the team to get three points in the GLVC standings. “We made a statement to the GLVC,” Rehagen says. “We faced adversity and overcame it. With a 1-0 lead and playing with a man down, we showed how hard we are willing to work for each other.”
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