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Luis
Matthew Brooks
0
Kansas City UKC (4-3-2, 2-0-1)
0
Western Ill. WIU (0-5-4, 0-1-1)
Kansas City UKC
(4-3-2, 2-0-1)
0
Final
0
Western Ill. WIU
(0-5-4, 0-1-1)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Kansas City UKC 0 0 0
Western Ill. WIU 0 0 0

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | WIU Athletic Communications

Leathernecks Shutout Roos

Western Illinois posts its first clean sheet of 2022 and will face Green Bay on Tuesday.

MACOMB, Ill. – Western Illinois men's soccer played on Saturday (Oct. 1), hosting Kansas City in a game that finished as a scoreless draw. The clean sheet was Western's first of the 2022 season as the team prepares for a Tuesday (Oct. 4) matchup against Green Bay.
 
"To get a clean sheet is huge against a good, quality team. We were gritty but not pretty but we'll take gritty because we had to be," head coach Dr. Eric Johnson said. "We had some chances too… UMKC is a real handful so for us to take them to a scoreless draw while being a man down shows some of the character that we've been trying to develop as a group. It's starting to show through."
 
Jack Immesoete and Abdul Hypolite returned to the starting 11 for a team that featured 18 different players in the game. The Leathernecks created opportunities early, taking two shots in the first 11 minutes, and had multiple shots blocked throughout the first half. Despite the chances, both teams were level at the halftime whistle.
 
Marco Presta was given a red card in the 60th minute after denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, meaning the Leathernecks had to play a man down for the final 30 minutes of action. Western didn't miss a beat defensively, with a substitution and formation change setting up the WIU defense to continue its strong effort.
 
"Our back line was big today… (Tajh Hylton) came into the game and he and (Kyle Owen) were solid, (Luis Rodrigues and Caleb Ragland) were really good on the outside. Our midfield was tightened up pretty good too. We dropped into a 4-3-2 with low pressure and worked really hard," Johnson said. "Some guys had to put in a performance because Kansas City had an extra guy, so they were just running all over the place. I thought the guys off the bench were good today too. It was a really good team performance."
 
Despite being down a man for the game's final 30 minutes, Western was able to limit UMKC's attack to just five shots on target for the entire game. The Leathernecks blocked six Roo attempts at goal in the final half hour while Alex Flowers came up with some key saves as Western Illinois and Kansas City were scoreless at the final whistle.
 
Arian Mehrang led the team in shots with two as Western made six attempts on goal in the game, three of which were on target, while holding UMKC to five shots on target across 19 attempts. WIU drew 14 Roo fouls, committing just ten, and Flowers finished the matchup with five saves and his first clean sheet of 2022.
 
"Alex was really good and communicated well and did the things that he needed to do to keep the shoutout,"Johnson said. "Jack Immesoete was really good today in the defensive midfield. He was all over the field again and he ran himself into the ground, but I thought he was really good today. Marco was good defensively until he got the card but obviously I thought a lot of guys stepped up defensively and that's a start. (Oscar Olingdahl) was good off the bench defensively too."
 
Saturday's performance was the first shutout of the season for Western Illinois, who play eight more games this season – six of which are against Summit League competition. WIU is back in action Tuesday (Oct. 4), hosting Green Bay in Macomb. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
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