Point Park men & women earn road victories at IU East

Photo Courtesy Point Park University Athletics

Both Point Park men’s and women’s soccer teams took home victories on the road in Indiana on Thursday.

MEN ROLL TO 4-2 WIN

Point Park University men’s soccer team pushed its win streak to four games and stayed unbeaten in the River States Conference with Thursday night’s 4-2 victory at Indiana East.

PIONEERS ROLL TO 4-2 WIN 

The Pioneers (4-1, 4-0 RSC) scored the first two and the last two goals of the game to down IU East (0-3, 0-3 RSC) in a hard-fought battle on a very muddy field. 

Point Park built its 2-0 lead thanks to captain Geert Bijl. He scored on a penalty kick in the 26th minute for a 1-0 advantage. Three minutes later, Bijl found Mitchell Roell for another tally. Bijl finished with a goal and an assist while Roell totaled a goal and two assists. 

IU East’s Gustavo Ferrari scored just 27 seconds later to cut it to 2-1. He then got his brace to tie it up 2-2 in the 38th minute.

The score stayed 2-2 until the later stages as the teams continued to wage a tense battle in the mud.

With 13:27 remaining, Lloyd van Wees scored the eventual game-winner. After taking a pass from Roell, van Wees found his balance on soggy ground and then hammered a shot that hit the crossbar and went straight down into the goal. 

In the 84th minute, Niyonyishu Heritier padded the lead to 4-2. Alan Pinho raced the ball up the sideline then centered it to Roell, who found Heritier streaking down toward the far post for the finish. Heritier has now scored in the second half of all four games in which he’s played. 

Point Park’s defense held firm with goalkeeper Sean O’Hea making four saves on the backend. IU East held a 23-17 advantage in shots, which was a big difference of 16-6 for the Red Wolves in the first half. 

Point Park’s next game is Oct. 22 at home versus WVU Tech. Kickoff is 3 p.m. at Montour Junction Sports Complex.

PPU WOMEN SHUT OUT IU EAST

Point Park University women’s soccer earned a 1-0 shutout at Indiana University East on Thursday night. The Pioneers improved to 4-2 overall, 4-1 RSC with the River States Conference road victory over the defending conference champs.

The Pioneers scored a first-half goal by Britney Adrian and held on for the win. Adrian scored in the 29th minute off an assist from Kylee Bobak. For Adrian, she found the scoresheet once again with points in her fourth straight game. For Bobak, it was her fifth game in a row with an assist. 

Point Park withstood a 23-8 disadvantage in shots to IU East (3-1, 3-1 RSC). The Red Wolves had a lead of 11-4 in first-half shots and 12-4 in the second half. But many of the shots went wide with Point Park preventing too many good looks. IU East managed seven shots on goal. 

“The ladies were fantastic,” said Point Park head coach John Newbery. “They were calm, composed, selfless and committed to the game plan that we had. All credit goes to the players and their grit to beat one of the best, if not the best, teams in the conference.”

Point Park goalkeeper Ella Serlin made seven saves in 90 minutes for the shutout victory. It was the first-career solo shutout for the freshman from Toronto, Canada. 

The Pioneers continue their road trip at Indiana University Kokomo for another RSC game on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.