Sept. 18, 2009 – It took the Truman men’s soccer team just 14 minutes to build a three-goal advantage on Friday night against Incarnate Word (Texas) en route to a 3-2 upset win of the nation’s 7th-ranked Div. II soccer squad.
The Bulldogs (5-1) kicked off a two-game trip to the Lone Star state by controlling the first 20 minutes of the match and stunning a UIW crowd with three quick goals. Nick Schlichtman scored in the seventh minute by putting in a rebound of Jonathan Brown’s attempt off the crossbar. Just over four minutes later, Dan Meagher scored his third goal of the season off another rebound to give the purple and white a quick two-goal edge.
UIW responded off the kickoff, drawing a corner kick before Truman picked up a key team save to keep the Cardinals (3-1-2) off the board. The Bulldogs transitioned, and Bobby Larkin found pay-dirt in the 14th minute, beating the keeper on the near side.
The Bulldogs would surrender an own goal in the 28th minute, but held the Cardinals down all the way to the 81st minute before UIW would cut the lead to just one with a header off a corner kick. The host squad kept the pressure on, getting three more headers in the final six minutes, but Truman goalkeeper Tyler Knierim made the final save of the night with just over a minute to play, securing a key regional road win for the ’Dogs.
Each team took 11 shots, led by a quartet of Bulldogs that each fired two blasts. Knierim made three saves, as the Bulldogs improved to 4-0 on their current seven-match stretch away from Kirksville. Truman will travel to Austin, Texas, for a match against St. Edward’s University on Sunday morning at 11 am.