September 7, 2000
Men's Soccer Keeps the Show on the Road
THE GAME: Truman State University Bulldogs (Independent/NCAA Division
II) vs. Lewis University Flyers (Great Lakes Valley/NCAA Division II)
DATE: September 9, 2000
TIME: 12:30 p.m. (CST)
LOCATION: Romeoville, Illinois
THE GAME: Truman State University Bulldogs (Independent/NCAA Division
II) vs. University of Wisconsin-Parkside (Great Lakes Valley/NCAA Division
II)
DATE: September 10, 2000
TIME: 12:30 p.m. (CST)
LOCATION: Kenosha, Wisconsin
TRUMAN: The Bulldogs head into the last weekend of their six-game season opening road stretch with a spotless 4-0 record. After opening the 2000 campaign with a sweep at the University of Missouri-St. Louis classic, the 'Dogs repeated the feat last weekend at the Quincy University Soccer Bowl. Truman defeated the host Hawks 4-1 on Saturday and survived Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville by a 2-1 score on Sunday. Ryan Swan (Perth, Scotland/Kemper Military J.C.), Matt Byers (Moville, Iowa/Woodbury Central), Matt Gross (Ballwin, Mo./Lafayette) and Michael Roth (St. Charles, Mo./Desmet) each tallied for Truman in the Quincy match, with Justin Shew (Webster Groves, Mo./Webster Groves) dishing out a pair of assists. The Cougars gave the 'Dogs their toughest fight of the season thus far, as the teams went to the half in a 1-1 deadlock.
Swan netted Truman's first half goal, off an assist from Jeremy Jackson (Peoria, Ill./Notre Dame North). Not surprisingly it was the familiar forward connection striking again for the Bulldog game-winner, as Swan did the helping this time, setting up Byers for the goal at 53:11. TJ Dube (Columbia, Mo./Hickman) did the honors in goal for the entirety of both games, making seven saves and allowing a lone goal in each contest.
SERIES RECORD AND RECAP: The Bulldogs took on both opponents on the home pitch last season, improving their record against Parkside to 6-1 with a 1-0 overtime victory but dropping their mark against Lewis to 7-4-1 after a 1-3 loss to the Flyers.
THE POLLS: Truman's hot start has led to a concurrent rise in the NSCAA/Adidas rankings. The 'Dogs climb all the way to No. 4 in the Division II nation and retain their No. 1 ranking in the Central region. This weekend's opponents are also ranked in the region, with Lewis checking in at No. 2 and Parkside in at No. 4.