Rose-Hulman Edges Anderson

The Anderson University men's soccer team fell on Wednesday to the Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers 1-0 in the final Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season match-up.

Stephen Fite (Cincinnati, Ohio / Homeschool) gave the Ravens (8-8-2, 5-2-2) an early look in the 4^th minute, but hit the shot out right. Both sides then battled for possession, with the Ravens and Fightin Engineer's (12-4-1, 9-0-0) both ripping off one shot between the 5^th and 11^th minute.

After the 11^th minute, it was a defensively played game, with neither team allowing the other an offensive attack.

All would change in the 21^st minute when the lone goal of the game came in favor of the undefeated Fightin' Engineers. AJ Yilmaz of Rose-Hulman would score the game's only goal off a Takezo Kelly assist.

In the remainder of the half, Rose-Hulman would take eight chances at goal and held the Ravens to just one.

The second half saw the Ravens playing defensively for most of the 45 minutes. Rose-Hulman allowed Anderson just two shots in the second half compared to their 10.

The second 45 minutes would come and go with neither team finding the goal, giving the Fightin' Engineers the 1-0 victory over the Ravens. 

After the 90 minutes of play, Anderson recorded five shots in the match versus Rose-Hulman's 22, nine of which were on goal. In goal, Danny Moro-Medina (Goshen, Ind. / Goshen) made eight crucial saves to keep the Ravens within reach. Stephen Fite led the Ravens with two shots on the day. Drew Vaughn (Beavercreek, Ohio / Beavercreek), Cameron Beadle (Terre Haute, Ind. / North Vigo), and Matthew Murray (Indianapolis, Ind. / Pike) each tabbed one shot. Dalton Grubbs (Carmel, Ind. / Carmel) led the Ravens with five steals. Usman Kamara (Indianapolis, Ind. / Franklin Central) provided three steals while Drew Vaughn paced the Ravens with three intercepts.

Head Coach Scott Fridley had this to say after the match: "I hate that we lost this game on that type of breakdown, but I am proud we finished the game strong. We have struggled most of the year in finishing games. This is a hardworking fun group, but young and still finding out who we are. We will rebound and be ready for Saturday."

The Ravens now turn their focus to Saturday as they are set to host Bluffton University (8-7, 4-5) in the opening round of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament. Anderson heads into the match as the third seed while Bluffton comes in as the sixth seed. The match is set to begin at 2 p.m. at Macholtz Stadium.