Men’s soccer falls to Carroll

The Lawrence men’s soccer team was outscored 3-1 in a road game against Carroll University last Sunday.
In a battle of conference rivals, the Pioneers (6-6-1, 4-1 MWC) fought to preserve their slight lead over the Vikings, who entered the game tied with the home team for third in the conference standings.
The Pioneers’ Marc Hietpas scored early with a fifth-minute goal on an assist from Adam Bruk.
14 minutes later, senior Bennett Pang put the ball in the back of the net off an excellent pass from freshman Charlie Mann, tying the score.
Lawrence (6-5-1, 3-2 MWC) held strong for the next 24 minutes, but Carroll exposed a weak Viking defensive set and scored on a shot from Scott Pease, making the score 2-1 at the half.
The Vikings fought hard for the majority of the second half, putting several quality shots in the direction of the goal, but they were unable to score. The Pioneers finally put the game out of reach with a goal in the 87th minute off a poor defensive clearance.
The Vikings dropped their second game of the conference schedule, but the team still holds on to its fourth-place spot in the Midwest Conference, which would be enough to send Lawrence to the conference playoffs.
Next, the Vikings will battle Monmouth and Illinois College this Saturday and Sunday at home.
The Vikings still have fixtures against St. Norbert College and conference leaders Ripon College in late October. With just a one-game lead over fifth-place Lake Forest, Lawrence will need all the wins it can get in order to secure its spot in the conference playoffs.