EAST CHICAGO, Ind. — IU Northwest men's soccer picked up its first win of the season in style Wednesday night, pouring in four goals in a 4-0 home-opening victory over Defiance College (Ohio) at East Chicago.
The Redhawks (1-1-0) set the tone early and never let up, outshooting the Yellow Jackets 17-3 and getting saves from Carter Levesque before a switch to Jackson Novak in goal late in the match, as the Redhawks cruised behind a balanced offensive attack up and down the lineup.
Erick Gonzalez opened the scoring in the 18th minute, finishing off a Luis Limones assist for his first goal of the season and giving IU Northwest a 1-0 lead it would not relinquish. The Redhawks doubled their advantage in the second half when Cesar Lopez buried a feed from Chase Beals in the 53rd minute for his first goal of the year.
From there, the floodgates opened. Josh Braun scored the first goal of his collegiate career in the 63rd minute off an assist from Ezekiel Mugisha, pushing the lead to 3-0. Christian Sanclemente Roa capped the scoring in the 80th minute, redirecting home a team-credited assist for his first career collegiate goal and the Redhawks' fourth of the night.
Defiance goalkeeper Rafael Gaino kept the Yellow Jackets within shouting distance for much of the match, turning away six shots, but the Redhawks' relentless pressure — 17 shots to Defiance's three — was too much to overcome. Levesque was rarely tested behind a stout Redhawks back line, finishing with three saves before giving way to Novak in the closing minutes.
The match had its share of chippiness, but IU Northwest stayed composed and controlled the run of play from start to finish in front of the home crowd.
The Redhawks hit the road next, traveling to Richmond, Ind., to face IU East on Saturday, Aug. 29.
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Indiana University Northwest
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