Men’s soccer heads to the Summit League semifinals

The men’s soccer team finishes on an upswing.
                                                                                                                                Photo by Dan Moreno

Coach Rick Benben’s team received a tough tune-up for the Summit League championships when it lost 2-1 on Saturday to defending champion Western Illinois at Macomb, Ill.,

The Roos are now the No. 2 seed in the Summit League.

The Roos will return to Macomb to face Western Illinois once again on Friday to play a semifinal match in the Summit League conference tournament.

The overall record was 7-9-2, but a 5-2 conference record gave the Roos second place.

The Roos were off to a 1-4-2 before their first conference match of the season.

As expected, the duo of Jordan Rideout and David Sarabia led the offense. Rideout led the team with seven goals in the regular season, while Sarabia scored four.

Both goalkeepers Connor Sparrow and Kevin Corby shared time during the season.  Sparrow played 14 games and made 44 saves while Corby played six games and made 22 saves.

Ashley Reece had four assists, while newcomers Tom Gaus and Tom McCarthy each had three assists.

The highlight of the season so far has been Jordan Rideout’s title of Offensive Player of The Week last week after scoring twice against Indianapolis in overtime, propelling the team to victory.