No. 9 falls as Panthers upset Warhawks in season finale
ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University men's soccer team made a statement for playoff consideration in its season finale Friday night by defeating the No. 9-ranked team in NCAA Division III, Wisconsin-Whitewater, 1-0 at Wilson Field. The Panthers improve to 10-7-2 and hand the Warhawks just their second loss of the season.
Both sides struggled to challenge the net at the beginning, but the game-winning breakthrough came in the 30th minute off the foot of junior M Chris Duran. After a series of passes weaving through the Whitewater defense, the ball found the feet of freshman F Nick Echeverry. The freshman then fired a shot from 10 yards away that was stopped due to a diving effort by Whitewater GK Matt Mikesell. The ball was deflected to Duran who put it away for what would be the game-winning goal and his first goal of the season.
Chapman senior GK Tyler Hadzinsky made a pair of saves on what could be his last game at Wilson Field. Hadzinsky kept the Warhawks off the scoreboard and tacked on his sixth clean sheet of the season. The only other time Whitewater has been held scoreless was a 0-0 tie Oct. 3 against University of St. Thomas (Minn.). Hadzinsky saved his best performances for last, coming up with back-to-back shutouts against UC Santa Cruz and now UW-Whitewater.
Hadzinsky was one of five seniors honored in a pregame ceremony for Chapman's graduating seniors. Also recognized were D Cody Mansfield, D Jeff Boyer, M Ryan Carroll and M Dalton Sweaney.
Chapman's victory improves its home record to 5-1-2 and significantly strengthens its candidacy for the postseason. The Panthers are 8-2-1 versus in-region competition, including wins over No. 9 Whitewater (D3Soccer.com) and No. 16 Redlands (NSCAA). Chapman will await word from the NCAA selection committee on a possible at-large playoff berth. The announcement will be webstreamed live on NCAA.com on Monday, Nov. 8 at 11 a.m. PST.
by Robert Flicker
Sports Information Intern
Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/msoc/2010-11/files/uww-cu.htm