Iowa Western men's soccer win their second game in a row in ICCAC play on the road against the Hawks of Northeast Community College. The high winds and cold weather made the game a challenge for both teams. The Reivers playing against the wind limited the space in their first half, but were caught being slow on the ball to give up the opener. Alex Wilcock closed space quickly in the box to deflect the ball past the Reivers keeper and into the bottom corner in the 14th minute of play. It was the only time Daniel Bermingham was tested in the first half. The Reivers were missing the killer ball on the counter as they had a lot of promising movements end without a shot. Forward Raul Meneghetti had the best opportunity in the first half when Tanner Miller found him in space, but his one time shot was saved well by the Hawks keeper.
With the wind at their backs, the Reivers upped the pressure in the second half. The majority of the play was in the Hawks half, with the Reivers creating ten more shots in the second half compared to the first. Sophomore Matheiu Peyreblanque was twice denied with impressive diving saves early in the half. Despite the extra pressure the Reivers were finding it hard to beat the Hawks defense until the 77th minute when Meneghetti pounced on a deflected cross to will the ball over line and tie the game at 1-1. The final minute was full of action as the Hawks had a shot strike an arm in the box, but the referee deemed it ball to hand. The Reivers immediately went down the other end and won a penalty of their own when freshman Quinton Kipara was caught trying to get around the last defender. Freshman midfielder Mauricio Dos Santos cooly put the ball down the middle as the Hawks keeper dove out of the way. The Hawks still weren't done as they had the last chance from a free kick. The Hawks attacked the cross quicker than the Reivers only to have the crossbar deny them.
The Reivers are now 5-4 in the conference which puts them firmly in fifth place.. The Reivers will face Hawkeye Community College for sophomore day at the Reiver Sports Complex this Saturday, October 13th. The game can be seen live at http://goreivers.com/information/reiver-sports-network.
