MOUNT PLEASANT – The Iowa Wesleyan College soccer teams again lost a pair of close Midwest Collegiate Conference matches, as both the men’s and women’s teams lost to Waldorf College at East Lake Park on Saturday.
The Tigers continued an odd trend of losing by the exact same scores to the same school on the same day, as both the women and men lost by scores of 2-1 to the Warriors. It was the third time in eight days that both teams lost by the exact same score against the same school.
Saturday’s game also marked Wesleyan’s second straight losses to MCC foes, after both lost to Clarke 1-0 on Wednesday. The Tiger women dropped to 1-10-1 overall (0-3 conference), while the men are now 2-7-1 overall and 0-2-1 in the MCC.
The women’s match saw Waldorf score twice early while playing with the wind behind its back in the first half. Kristi Haakma scored the opening goal 17:25 into the match, getting the ball from a sharp angle on the right side after it deflected off several players and putting it over goalkeeper Cara Arnold (Jr.-Davis Junction, Ill.). Kristin Maynard added a second goal just over four minutes later, scoring with an assist from Taylor Mallak for a two-goal advantage.
IWC scored its goal on a penalty kick by Jessica Cheeley (Sr.-Burlington, Iowa) at the 69:10 mark. With the wind behind them, the Tigers had four shots on goal in the second half but would not score again as Waldorf beat Wesleyan for the second straight year.
The men’s match followed a similar pattern, with the visitors scoring an early goal and adding a second goal in the first half. Frank Delgado scored both goals for Waldorf, and his second came in the 21st minute to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead.
IWC got one back when Levor Henry (Sr.-St. Johns, Antigua) scored early in the second half off an assist from Chris Matthews (So.-Toronto, Ontario, Canada). That would be the Tigers’ last shot on goal, though, and Wesleyan had just two shots in the entire second half while playing much of the way a man down after Henry drew a red card in the 61st minute.
Troy Osborne (Jr.-Sydney, Australia) made one save in the first half before also drawing a red card at halftime. Idris Labaran (Fr.-Matteson, Ill.) made four saves in the second half in goal for the Tigers.
IWC is back in action on Tuesday when it travels to Oskaloosa to face William Penn University under the lights in MCC play. The women’s match will begin at 5:30 p.m., with the men’s match to follow at 7:30 p.m.
Box score Women Waldorf 2 IWC 1
Box score Men Waldorf 2 IWC 1
