Sig Ep’s Robert Spalding dribbles past Sigma Chi’s Cody Waggoner.
Sigma Chi defeated Sigma Phi Epsilon in intramural soccer Wednesday night to move to 2-1 on the season.
Sig Ep came out of the gate explosively with a shot on goal almost immediately. The team continued its attack with several crosses in front of the goal, but none landed on target as the Sigma Chi defense held strong.
Sigma Chi’s keeper was in the action early and often, making key saves in the early minutes of the game. Sigma Chi’s offense was rooted mainly in counter attacks as the men struggled to win the possession battle for the majority of the first half.
The first goal in the game came from Sigma Chi midfielder Chris Koechner on a 30-foot strike just before halftime.
“I’m a senior and I hadn’t scored in my four years here,” Koechner said. “I was just thinking, ‘please go in.’”
The second half was much more of a possession game as both teams jockeyed for field position. Sig Ep’s junior Andrew Cude passed to sophomore Heath Fritz for the game-tying goal.
“I saw Cude had the ball on the left side and there was no one in the backfield,” Fritz said. “He played it across, I snuck behind the defense and just tapped it in.”
The play was scrappy in the waning minutes of the game as both teams went for the go-ahead goal. Neither was successful as regulation ended in a tie, resulting in five minutes of extra time.
Both teams had multiple scoring opportunities but failed to capitalize. With the match still tied at 1, the teams went to penalty kicks to decide the winner. With a 3-2 count favoring Sigma Chi heading into the final set of kickers, Sigma Chi’s Braden Throgmorten placed the ball in the lower left corner of the net to seal the victory.
Both teams can improve their records on Sunday as the intramural tournament approaches.
Story by Peter Northcutt, Staff writer