Ravens Advance to HCAC Semifinals

The four-seeded Anderson University men's soccer team (7-7-4) defeated the five-seed Berea College (5-13-2) by a score of 2-0 on Saturday at Fridley Field in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Quarterfinal.

Head Coach Scott Fridley earned his 250th career win with Saturday's victory.

Dalton Grubbs took advantage of the wall on a free kick just outside the 18-yard box, shooting the ball underneath the jumping wall and past the Mountaineer keeper in the 7th minute.

The Ravens kept the pressure up until the 41st minute when Roosvins Josil got two shots on goal from inside the box, but Braydon Kennedy made the saves. At the end of the half, the shots were tied at six.

When the second half started, Berea applied a lot of pressure, including multiple fouls, cards, corner kicks, and shots, but they were unable to break through the Anderson defense!

The offense took advantage of its opportunity to strike when Caleb Opoku found Emmett Kindler alone in front of the goalie. The goalie made the initial stop on Emmett, who shot his rebound, which got blocked by a defender. Finally, on his third attempt in the 85th minute, he was able to put the ball in the back of the net!

Anderson outshot Berea 14 to ten throughout the contest, including six to four in shots on goal. There were a combined 36 fouls, 19 on Berea and 17 on Anderson. Braydon Kennedy stopped all four shots faced, completing his seventh clean sheet of the season. Kennedy and Drew Vaughn led the Ravens with seven intercepts, and Jack Harris led with six steals.

COACH SCOTT FRIDLEY'S COMMENTS

What a game, and plenty of drama.  I am very proud of [Saturday's] effort from the boys.  We played with a lot of tenacity and worked to keep our composure. We recorded our seventh shutout of the season. Braydon Kennedy and the backline really held steady and kept calm throughout the match. Even though we are pretty banged up, we are trying to stay consistent and work hard. On to Tuesday.

UP NEXT

The Ravens travel to the top-seeded Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (10-4-3) in Terre Haute on Tuesday, November 5, at 7 p.m. in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Semifinal.