CINCINNATI, Ohio - On Wednesday, October 26th your Mount St. Joseph University Lions welcomed the Yellow Jackets of Defiance College to Schueler Field. Wednesday night we also celebrated senior night for the 3 Men's Soccer Seniors;
Nicholas Phelps,
Jefferson Bishop &
Gustavo Gutierrez. To begin play the Lions came out firing, registering 10 first half shots, 5 on target. But, they could not convert heading into halftime still knotted up at 0. In the 2nd half the Lions gained an edge early in the 60th minute but Defiance would answer back in the 72nd minute. With the game tied
Michael Abel scored his 2nd goal of the evening in the 88th minute which gave the Lions the victory in the last regular season game of the season.
In the first half each offense came out aggressive.
Luis Martinez Velez and
Michael Abel would quickly get 3 shots off for the Lions but could not find the net. In the first half, goalkeeper
Gustavo Gutierrez was absolutely dominant in the net. Gutierrez made 5 first half saves keeping the score tied at 0-0 heading into the break.
After the break, the Lions took the attack following a opportunity for Defiance. Sophomore
Jacob Trusty would hold possession down the near sideline. Trusty would then see a lane, smashing a powerful through ball over the Yellow Jacket defense and right to Junior
Michael Abel. Abel let the ball bounce once,and then poked a shot to the bottom right corner and into the net giving the Lions a 1-0 advantage.
Following the goal, goalkeeper
Jackson Byrd made a handful of key saves to keep the score at 1-0. But, in the 72nd minute the Yellow Jackets were awarded a penalty kick. Byrd guessed right, but the shot was too powerful tying the game at 1.
But, the Lions continued to push the pace. Byrd continued to make impressive stops for the Lions in the net and it paid off. With under 3 minutes remaining the Lions would take advantage of another opportunity. Sophomore
Joshua Budke would hold possession on the near sideline. Similarly to the first goal, Budke would send a looping cross toward the box from roughly 30 yards out. Standing in the box was Abel and a Yellow Jacket defender. Abel with a height advantage, soared overtop the Defiance defender connecting with a leaping header sending the ball looping over the goalkeeper's head and into the top right corner. With just 2 minutes remaining, the Lions defense buckled down holding on to win 2-1.
Michael Abel led the way for the Lions scoring both goals with assists from both
Jacob Trusty and
Joshua Budke. Also, both goalkeeper's for The Mount were impressive. Senior
Gustavo Gutierrez shutout the Yellow Jacket attack in the first half while making 5 saves. Freshman
Jackson Byrd was up to the task allowing just the 1 penalty kick goal while making 7 second half saves.
This concludes the 2022 season for your Mount St. Joseph University Lions. Thank you for following along!
