Nov. 15, 2003
Truman Men's Soccer Wins Central Region Title; Will face Findlay in NCAA Division II Quarterfinals
Soccer fans saw a flurry of goals in Truman's 5-2 NCAA Division II quarterfinal win over Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville today.
SIUE went up 1-nil in the sixth minute on Victor Pacheco's 11th goal of the season with help from Addae Rique.
It looked like the Bulldogs might head to halftime without a goal when Lars Pottgiesser came off the bench and took a shot that curled inside the right post in the 37th minute. Ricky Vigil sent the ball into Pottgiesser from the left side off of a pass from Brenton Freeman.
Vigil and Pottgieser assisted on Paul Link's goal in the 42nd minute to send the 'Dogs to intermission with a 2-1 lead. It was Link's second goal on the year.
A little more than seven minutes into the second period, Truman struck again. This time the Bulldogs' leading scorer, Sean Birrell, found the back of the net on a left-footed shot on the break-away feed from Pottgeiser.
SIUE's Pacheco took a free kick from just outside the box at 59:43 and snuck the ball in the top left corner to bring the Cougars within a goal of Truman, 3-2.
But Pottgeiser scored his second goal of the day in the 69th minute with help from Mike Boyle to give the 'Dogs a 4-2 cushion. Pottgeiser would score a hat-trick for the day, putting the icing on the Bulldogs' cake with a penalty kick at 82:30.
In the remaining 30 minutes, five yellow cards and a red card were issued to both teams. Truman had 27 fouls to SIUE's 18 for the day.
The Bulldogs extended their win-streak to 26 games, tying Lynn University (Fla.) for the second longest winning streak in NCAA Division II history, and remained undefeated for the season at 20-0-0.
The SIUE Cougars finished their 2003 campaign with a 16-4-1 record.
Truman will face Findlay (Ohio) in a quarterfinal contest on Nov. 22 or 23. If the Bulldogs host that contest, the game is tentatively scheduled to take place on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 1 p.m.