WAUKESHA, Wis. – The Carroll University men's soccer team fell in heartbreaking fashion on Wednesday, surrendering a 4-5 loss to Wheaton College on a penalty kick with under a minute to play.
The Pioneers (7-7, 2-3 CCIW) brawled with the Thunder, as both teams scored a combined nine goals in a heavy-weight style bout.
Marti Solanellas Vilella scored twice on five shots, while
Nico Hinten Llorens and
Josh Venouziou both had a goal and an assist apiece. It was a tale of two halves for both teams, as Carroll took 11 shots in the first half while the Thunder took 11 in the second. Carroll held a 5-2 advantage on corner kicks, but the Thunder recorded nine saves. Four Pioneers were assessed yellow cards.
A rebounded shot on goal from
Josh Gonzaga led into the right foot of Venouziou who tallied the first goal of the night at the 7:00 minute mark. The Thunder retaliated four minutes later with a double-assisted goal that went past a charging
Tyler Hanson. The Thunder scored twice more and took a 3-1 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the first half. A PK taken by Solanellas Vielella put the Pioneers within one, and Solanellas Vilella scored once more three minutes later assisted by Hinten Llorens on a shot that bounced off the top of the crossbar and across the line. Both teams went into a rainy break tied 3-3.
It was the Pioneers who struck first in the second half, as Venouziou passed left to Hinten Llorens inside the box for goal number four of the night in the 67
th minute. Less than a minute later, a misplayed ball in the Pioneer defensive unit was given to Wheaton who equalized the match. The Thunder maintained strong possession in the final minutes of the second half. In a match that looked as though it would end in a tie, a hard challenge by Hanson in the penalty box led to a Thunder PK with 27 seconds remaining. After the successful penalty, Carroll took hail mary chances at the end as the clock wound down.
Carroll's next challenge falls on Saturday, October 15 against No. 24 North Central at 7:30 PM.
