WAUKESHA, Wis. - Mark Bayer picked a perfect time to score the first goal of his collegiate career.
Bayer, a 6-foot freshman defender from Kettle Moraine High School, scored the winning goal off an assist from senior forward Bryan Nagy (Hales Corners, Wis.) in the 75th minute as the Carroll University men's soccer team defeated Augustana 2-1 in a physical, fast-paced College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin game at Schneider Stadium on Saturday night.
It was the first conference victory of the season for the Pioneers, who improved to 1-3 in the league standings and 5-8-1 overall.
On the pressure-packed game-winner at the 75:54 mark, Nagy took possession on the left side, worked downfield and delivered a crisp, crossing pass toward the middle.
Seconds later, Bayer charged forward past a defender and finished with a strong shot into the back of the net to break a 1-1 tie.
"The first one is always special," said Bayer, of his dramatic, inaugural goal at the collegiate level. "Being at the center-back position, I knew it would take some time to earn my first goal so it was great to step up and contribute at a key point in the game.
"We had been pounding the ball during the entire evening but struggled to finish on chance after chance. That's when I just took on the mindset of being fed up and decided to make a run. At first, I played the ball to junior midfielder Kieran DeGroot (De Pere, Wis.), who fed the ball to Nagy. I was tired but kept running and knew exactly where he was going to put it. That's when I anticipated the pass and attempted to finish with some authority.
Bayer was quick to point out that the final minutes felt like an eternity and that playing tenacious defense became the focus.
"After scoring, we knew that it was all about defending and preventing them from coming back. That's when we buckled down, did what we needed to do and managed to get the job done. The final few minutes took forever so it was great to see the clock finally run out and come away with our first victory in the CCIW. Hopefully, this will give us some good momentum heading down the stretch."
Nagy emphasized that the team's ability to compete with a sense of urgency played a critical role in the victory.
"We came in looking for our first CCIW victory so it great to respond to the challenge tonight," Nagy said. "At this point in the season, we have four games left so we have to focus on each game and do our best to put together a strong run in hopes of making the playoffs.
"On the winning play, I took the ball all the way down to the baseline, crossed the ball over to Mark and he just pounded it into the goal. It's something we've been working on a lot in practice so it was great to see it make the difference."
Senior midfielder Caden Pruitt (Ringwood, Ill.) had the other goal for the Pioneers on a double assist from Nagy and senior forward Tyler Coenen (Little Chute, Wis.), scoring on a hard-lining 30-yard shot in the ninth minute to claim an early lead for Carroll.
The Pioneers outshot Augustana 16-9 in the contest, maintaining a critical 6-4 shot-on-goal advantage.
Sophomore goalkeeper Nick Drew (Milton, Wis.) had three saves to help preserve a victory for the Pioneers.
Senior midfielder Michael Brazinski scored on an assist from senior midfielder Dominick Sullivan to tie the game in the 61st minute for Augustana, which dropped to 0-3-1 in conference and 4-9-1 overall.