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Cesar Cosio

Men’s Soccer Wins First Exhibition

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

Mauzu Sagir, Kyle Owen and Enric Ferrer get on the stat sheet for the first time this season.

MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois men's soccer opened their 2021 fall season with an exhibition against Lincoln College on Sunday (Aug. 15), winning 3-0 at John MacKenzie Alumni Field.
 
With a starting lineup that included seniors Luke Duball, Ryan DeBois, Daisuke Otsuka and Paul Kirdorf, the Leathernecks participated in four different periods of 25 minutes each. Jack Immesoete took the first shot of the game, firing just wide in the fourth minute. After one period of play, it remained 0-0.
 
During the second period, it was more of the same. Ryan DeBois got his head on a cross but missed just wide, and Kyle Owen forced a nice save from the Lincoln goalkeeper off a header that came from a Paul Kirdorf corner kick.  Though both sides had chances, it was still scoreless at the break.
 
The 'Necks came out aggressively at the start of the third period, with Chinedu Dike and Jesse Agyekum notching shots in the first few minutes.
 
Late in the period, Western Illinois finally got the breakthrough they were looking for. Mauzu Sagir received a long pass over the top and got one-on-one with the Lincoln goalkeeper, slotting his shot into the lower right corner and giving his team the lead with eight minutes to go.
 
Two minutes later, Kyle Owen headed in a Cesar Cosio set piece to double the lead. Western recorded five shots and scored two goals during the third 25-minute stretch, holding a 2-0 lead heading into the final intermission.
 
Halfway through the fourth period, Enric Ferrer was the recipient of another ball over the top and scored, extending the lead to 3-0. Nobody scored in the remaining 12 minutes, and the game finished as a 3-0 win for Western.
 
After the game, Director of Soccer Eric Johnson said he liked what he saw during the afternoon.
 
"A lot of players got minutes and there weren't any serious injuries, so I would say it was a really productive day for us as a team," Johnson said. "We saw a lot of things we liked, some things we didn't, but will regroup at practice and prepare for the next one."
 
WIU men's soccer has two more exhibitions scheduled, hosting Quincy on Thurs. (Aug. 19) and traveling to play Chicago State on Friday (Aug. 20).
 
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