KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Western Illinois Fighting Leatherneck men's soccer team earned a 3-2 double-overtime victory on the road over the UMKC Kangaroos Saturday night to capture the 2011 Summit League Regular Season Title.
With the win, Western improves to 9-5-1 overall and 4-1 in league-play, while UMKC falls to 5-8-3 overall and 2-2-2 in Summit League matches.
The Regular Season Crown marks the fourth of its kind since the Leathernecks joined the Summit League (1995, 2000, 2006 and 2011); the last three under the guidance of head coach Dr. Eric Johnson.
Finishing atop the regular season standings also guarantees Western the #1-seed in the 2011 Summit League Soccer Championship. The 2011 tournament takes place in Kansas City, Mo. on November 11th and 13th.
Coach Johnson was very pleased with his team's hard fought 3-2 double-overtime victory Saturday evening.
"Getting tonight's win over a tough team like UMKC was exciting enough for us," said coach Johnson. "We knew that getting the top-seed would be very helpful, however, we still have to win back-to-back matches to capture the tournament crown, and that is difficult. I am really pleased with our team's regular season, earning the Regular-Season title was one of our goals and we accomplished it; but we're not done yet."
The Leathernecks jumped out a 1-0 lead early in the first. Senior midfielder Daniel Lewis notched his team-best fourth goal of 2011 at the 9:18 mark, an unassisted goal, putting Western on the board first.
Western began the second-half much like the first, improving its lead to 2-0 after senior midfielder Alexis Dominguez scored his second goal of the season at the 57:28 mark, also unassisted.
The Kangaroo's began to pressure Western late in the match, netting their first goal at the 70:50 mark. Jordan Rideout tallied the goal and was assisted by Luke Harman. Then, after Western's Charlie Bales was called for a foul in the box with under eight minutes to play (82:54), Rideout took advantage of the penalty kick and knotted the match up at 2, eventually sending the match into overtime.
After a scoreless first overtime, junior midfielder Husref Jupic found the back of the net for the third time this season. Jupic buried the game-winner after Lewis' corner kick at the 101:51 mark.
Western finished with 15 shots to UMKC's 13. Jupic led Western individually with six shots, three of which were on goal.
Senior goalkeeper Andy Ryan improved his record to 9-4-1 on the season, turning away two Kangaroo shots and allowing two goals. UMKC goalkeeper Kevin Corby suffered the loss, allowing three goals and stopping four Leatherneck shots.
The Regular Season Champions (9-5-1, 4-1) will play a rare Tuesday night contest next week on the road against the Purple Aces of Evansville.
