Portsmouth, Ohio – Shawnee State men's soccer picked up their fifth straight win on Sunday night, defeating Midway (Ky.) 2-0 despite going down to 10 men.
SSU would get the match started with a bang, scoring inside the first minute. A long throw-in from Jacob Perry (SO/Minford, Ohio) would bounce around in the box, and Ben Carrington (SO/Worksop, England) would head it toward an open Shane Zimmerman (SO/South Webster, Ohio), who would poke home to give SSU a 1-0 lead early.
That early lead would be tested, as Midway would control possession for the rest of the half. The Eagles' big chance would come in the 45th minute. Carlos Pinto would find himself in on goal, but a handball would get called back despite advantage. SSU's Ian Tolle (SO/Minford, Ohio) would be sent off, seeing a straight red card for the hand. However, a Midway free kick would be blocked by the Shawnee State wall, and the Bears would hold their 1-0 advantage at halftime.
SSU would defend well for the entire second half, staying compact and organized. The Bears would ice the game in the 87th minute with a goal. Hunter Miles (JR/Chillicothe, Ohio) would do well defensively to win the ball back and play it to Carrington, who would then play ahead to Kevin deLang (FR/Genemuiden, Netherlands)e. The Dutchman would weave through two Midway defenders, and round Atu Ordonez to score SSU's clinching goal for the 2-0 win.
The win improves Shawnee State to 7-3-0 on the season. Midway falls to 2-5-0. Shawnee State improves to 1-2-0 in the all-time series against Midway, earning their first win over the Eagles. SSU has now won five matches in a row, the longest winning streak in program history.
Shawnee State men's soccer returns to action for Homecoming on Saturday, September 29 when they welcome Pikeville to Portsmouth for their first Mid-South Conference game of the season. Kickoff is set for 3:30pm.
