Men's Soccer News Releases
Rams post back-to-back wins for first time since 2006
Coming up - Saturday, Sept. 19, at North Central Tournament, Naperville, Ill., vs. Mount Mercy, 1 p.m.; Sunday, Sept. 20, at North Central Tournament, Naperville, Ill., TBA. Wednesday, Sept. 23, at Ashford, Clinton, 2:30 p.m.
Ram rewind - After an 0-3 start to the season, first-year head coach Derek Bell liked his team's response in posting a pair of victories over the weekend.
The Rams had an offensive field day in an 8-4 win over MacMurray Saturday in Mount Vernon. Cornell came back Sunday with a 2-1 double overtime triumph at Monmouth (Ill.). The Rams opened the week Sept. 8 with a 5-1 home loss to Iowa Wesleyan.
Cornell (2-3) recorded back-to-back wins for the first time since October 2006. The Rams will try to make it three in a row Sept. 19 against Mount Mercy, which beat Cornell 3-0 in the season opener.
The Rams, held to one goal through their first three matches, broke through with a flurry of scores against MacMurray. Cornell tallied three goals in the opening 30 minutes and added five more markers in the second half of the nonconference rout.
Sophomore Julian Peota (Minneapolis, Minn./Southwest) led the scoring parade with three goals and an assist, registering his first goals as a Ram. Senior Joey Vandermause (Madison, Wis./Northland Pines) contributed one goal and three assists. Sungeun Kim (Kathmandu, Nepal/Lincoln) had two goals, William Helland (San Antonio, Texas/International School of Americas) posted a goal and an assist and Alex Beehler (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) added one goal.
Cornell outshot the visiting Highlanders, 20-7. Freshman Ben Alleva (Cary, Ill./Cary-Grove) picked up the win at keeper, saving one shot in 45 minutes of work. Ben Folan (Chicago, Ill./Kenwood Academy) played the entire second half at net.
The Rams needed two overtimes to fend off Monmouth, which forced the extra periods with a score in the final 22 seconds of regulation. Cornell regrouped and got the match-winner from Beehler in the 108th minute of the match. Beehler ended the contest on a scramble off a corner kick.
Kobina Essandoh (Worcester, Mass./Presec) put the Rams on the scoreboard with an assisted goal from Kim at the 42-minute mark. Alleva went the distance at net for the Rams, collecting 12 saves. He held strong against heavy pressure from the Fighting Scots, who owned a 34-8 advantage in shots.
The Rams hung close with Iowa Wesleyan for a half, trailing 2-1 after Beehler assisted Ryan Walden (Edina, Minn./Edina) with a goal at the 39-minute mark. Alleva had three saves for the Rams, who were outshot 16-10.
Rams in the rankings - Peota ranks second in the Iowa Conference in points per game (1.40) and is third in goals per game (0.60). Vandermause stands second in assists per game (0.60) and Alleva is second in saves per game (5.75).
