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Western Illinois University Athletics

DeBois
Bradley Motton
2
Chicago St. CSU (0-1-0, 0-0-0)
3
Winner Western Ill. WIU (1-0-0, 0-0-0)
Chicago St. CSU
(0-1-0, 0-0-0)
2
Final
3
Western Ill. WIU
(1-0-0, 0-0-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Chicago St. CSU 0 2 2
Western Ill. WIU 2 1 3

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

Leathernecks Victorious in Final Exhibition

Goals by Muazu Sagir and Arian Mehrang gave Western a 3-2 edge.

MACOMB, Ill.  – In the final exhibition of the 2022 preseason, Western Illinois men's soccer came out victorious against the Chicago State Cougars, winning 3-2 at John MacKenzie Alumni Field. The Leathernecks are in action next Thursday (Aug. 25), opening the regular season with a home matchup against Central Methodist.
 
Liam Gainey and Oscar Olingdal made their way into the starting lineup as Western Illinois pushed hard early and found a break. After some pressure on the Chicago State back line, Gainey got the ball on his foot and cut through the Cougar back line, playing a ball to the far side of the box for Muazu Sagir who finished at the goalkeeper's near post for a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute.
 
14 minutes later Damian Rincon split the Cougar defense with a ball on the ground to Arian Mehrang, who rounded the goalkeeper and doubled the Western lead with just eight minutes remaining in the period. Western held a 2-0 advantage entering halftime.
 
Chicago State worked its way back into the game with a 58th minute goal and nearly tied the game one minute later, but Marco Presta stopped the Chicago State attack with a last-ditch defensive effort to maintain the lead. 20 minutes later, Western scored when Arian Mehrang cut through the CSU defense from the left wing and had his shot deflected into the back of the net, restoring the two-goal advantage. The Cougars would add another in the 88th minute but Western's defense stood tall and maintained the lead, with the game finishing 3-2 in favor of Western Illinois.
 
Goals by Mehrang and Sagir combined with shots from Presta, Olingdal and Ryan DeBois led to an 8-6 advantage in shots, including a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal. The Leathernecks took four corner kicks in the game and drew 22 fouls, while committing 18 of their own, and Alex Flowers made one save in 45 minutes of action.
 
"We're fouling too much but that means we're playing hard… we've got to be smarter. It's a long two weeks of preseason so we're glad that's done with so we can get back to those one-a-day practices and focus on the stuff that we need to get better at," head coach Dr. Eric Johnson said. "The guys are really getting along, they're all working hard and they seem to be enjoying each other which is a plus."
 
Western Illinois is back in action next Thursday, Aug. 25, for a match against Central Methodist. Kickoff at John MacKenzie Alumni Field is scheduled for 5 p.m.
 
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