Spring Break
Men's soccer keeps its season alive with win
Western Illinois University Athletic Media Services
Issue date: 11/2/09 Section: Sports
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The win locked up a spot in The Summit League Tournament for Western.
Patano's goal, his first of the season, gave the Fighting Leathernecks (6-9-1, 3-2-0 Summit League) a 2-1 lead early in the second half and the Leathernecks never looked back as they pulled away for the win.
"Obviously it's a big win for us today," said Western Illinois head coach Dr. Eric Johnson. "You go through your season with the goal of making it to the conference tournament, and we were able to do that. It's a really big boost for the team, and it gives our seniors a chance to extend their careers for at least one more match."
Oral Roberts (6-8-2, 2-3-1 Summit League) scored the first goal of the match when Vince Tizzone found the back of the net at the 23:59 mark, but Western would tie the match, 1-1, on Martin Browne Jr.'s goal in the 42nd minute.
"I thought we got a little outplayed in the first half, but we rebounded nicely," Johnson said. "Martin's goal right before halftime gave us a lot of confidence heading into the second half."
Western Illinois would strike three more times in the match, including Patano's goal at the 48:04 mark.
Browne would add his second goal on a penalty kick just 41 seconds later at the 48:45 mark to push the lead to 3-1.
Oral Roberts had a chance to pull within one on Jarrett Hamilton's penalty kick in the 51st minute, but Leatherneck goalkeeper Stephen Paterson came up big with a save to preserve the two goal cushion.
"We got big performances from a lot of guys today," Johnson said. "Stephen made a great save on the penalty kick to keep the score where it was. That's a situation where the complexion of a game can really change with one play, and he did a great job to keep it where it was."
The Leathernecks got another insurance goal when Nathan Bruinsma knocked in a header on a pass from Oskar Gasecki in the 55th minute to give Western a 4-1 lead.
Paterson made eight saves, including five in the second half, to pick up his fourth win of the season. The Golden Eagles finished with 17 shots to Western's 14, including a nine to five advantage in shots on goal.
Western Illinois committed 15 fouls while Oral Roberts totaled 16. The Golden Eagles also finished with five corners to Western's one.
The Leathernecks will face Oakland in the regular season finale at 1 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 7 before heading to Kansas City, Mo. on Nov. 13 for the league tournament.
"I told our guys at the beginning of the season that we'd only get better as we went along," Johnson said. "All of our players have worked really hard, and we've improved every game. We're really excited to earn a spot in the postseason, and it will be a lot of fun for us."
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