CALEDONIA, Mich. - It was a tough pill to swallow on Sunday for the Davenport men's soccer team as they dropped a 2-1 decision against Purdue Northwest in GLIAC action. The Panthers and Pride are now tied for first place in the conference at 5-2.
The matchup was even on paper heading into the game and that translated onto the pitch. Davenport finished with 11 shots with five on goal, while Purdue Northwest had 10 shots with five on goal.
Shane Marinkovich stopped three shots for the Panthers, while Sebastian Contreras stopped four shots for the Pride.
After a close back-and-forth first half, the Panthers struck in the 44th minute for the 1-0 lead.
Evan Marquess played a great long diagonal pass along the turf and
Justice Sikkema ran up to the ball in stride past the defense and buried his seventh goal of the season from about 16 yards. The Pride had a great chance to tie it right before halftime but Lucas Bravo Olle missed a wide-open net. Bravo Olle would redeem himself when it mattered the most.
Purdue Northwest wasted little time tying the game in the 47th minute. The ball was unable to be cleared out of Davenport's defensive end and a bounce favored the Pride as Ariel Navarro scored his third goal of the season through a couple defenders.
Davenport was really starting to control the ball and it looked like they might just take the lead in the 55th minute.
Daire O'Riordan benefitted from two great passes, but Contreras made a huge save to keep the game tied at 1-1.
Gustav Moeller also just narrowly missed the goal on two different occasions in the second half. Marquess also had a rocket shot in the 84th minute that Contreras saved and punched away from the goal. Just moments after that shot, Bravo Olle scored the game winner in the 85th minute. He dribbled between defenders and fired a wonderful shot to the top right corner from around 20 yards unassisted. The Panthers had one final chance off a direct kick from about 22 yards, but
Matt Whelan just went high above the crossbar in the 89th minute.
Â
