PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The UIndy men's soccer team's historic season came to a close on Thursday evening in the national semifinal, dropping a 3-0 decision to No. 3-ranked and top-seeded Cal State LA at Highmark Stadium on the banks of the Monongahela River. The Golden Eagles netted their first goal in the opening half before tacking another pair late to put the match out of reach.
The Greyhounds finished the season with a 16-6-1 mark, setting a new program record for wins. Meanwhile, Cal State LA moves on to the national title match on Saturday against Charleston (W.Va.).
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The Greyhounds controlled possession early on, getting the ball on the Golden Eagle side of the field on several occasions. Coming up empty despite testing the CSULA defense for the first 15 minutes, the Golden Eagles turned a UIndy corner kick into an attack on the other end. CSULA's Leonardo Nogueira played a pass in the middle of the field and converted the one-on-one situation to get past
Dimitrios Karousos and take a 1-0 lead just before the half.
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It was much like the first half out of the locker room, with UIndy grinding out possessions with higher energy. But once again, CSULA's elite defense held strong, not conceding anything to the Hounds. Backs
Jakub Olczyk and Makel Rahseed both had looks at scoring midway through the half, but the CSULA keeper kept the Greyhounds away. The Eagles tacked on an insurance goal in the 80th minute, rebounding a shot off a Kaorusos save to go up 2-0. They knocked in a penalty kick attempt with a minute remaining to seal the Greyhounds' fate.
The senior class of
Andrew Dunkin,
Javier Steinwascher,
Ben Rohder,
Aba Phutin,
Julian Zylfiu,
Mase Koki,
Miles Palmer and
Ian Vicars leave UIndy as the program's all-time winningest class with 51 wins over the last four seasons.
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