Men’s soccer beats Case Western 3–2

Two weekends ago, the Carnegie Mellon men’s soccer team hosted two University Athletic Association (UAA) opponents, the University of Rochester Yellowjackets and the Case Western Reserve University Spartans. The Tartans fell short Friday night against Rochester, losing 2–0, but rebounded with a 3–2 win over Case Western Reserve.

Carnegie Mellon got off to a poor start Friday night when 18th-ranked Rochester scored 46 seconds into the first half. A Tartan defender played a ball back to senior goalkeeper Matt Bazin, whose clear was deflected into the net by a Yellowjacket. Unfortunately, the Tartans could not come back from their early deficit, and the visiting Yellowjackets scored again in the 67th minute to make the final score 2–0. Bazin had four saves on the match.

Carnegie Mellon played evenly with Case Western Reserve for the first 20 minutes until the Spartan defense made a critical error and allowed an own goal. Junior Patrick Lutz was dribbling down the sideline when he crossed the ball to classmate Jon Simon. A Case Western Reserve defender tried to head it back to his goalkeeper but put a little too much power on the ball and the header went just wide of the Case Western Reserve keeper’s hands, bouncing slowly into the back of the net.

Once Case Western Reserve had its confidence shaken, Carnegie Mellon quickly took control of the game and increased its lead minutes later when Simon scored his fifth goal of the season. Senior David Brackley played Simon a through ball to the far corner of the 18-yard box and Simon managed to drive a shot hard on the ground between the keeper and the inside post. His shot passed through the diving keeper’s arms and grabbed a piece of the back netting.

The final goal was the result of a beautiful combination made by juniors Ricky Griffin and Ryan Browne. Griffin initially tried his best to take a shot on goal, but after having that shot denied, he collected the rebound and carried the ball to the endline inside the 18. Browne, recognizing the situation, made a perfect run inside the box to the top of the 6 where Griffin was able to slot a beautiful ball that Browne finished into the net.

Carnegie Mellon will travel to New York and Boston for a doubleheader this weekend, with matches against New York University and Brandeis University Friday and Sunday.