CANTON, OH - The Panthers took care of business on Thursday, taking down the Malone Pioneers on their home turf by a score of 2-0.
Kentucky Wesleyan now moves to 5-2-4 (2-2-3 G-MAC) while Malone falls to 2-6-2 (1-4-2 G-MAC).
The opening half of play was uneventful, as each team put up three shots, with both having one on goal.
Santiago Henrich turned defense into offense early on in the second half, taking advantage of some careless play by the Malone defenders. Henrich blocked a clearance attempt at the half, then raced all the way downfield, touched it by the keeper, and calmly put the ball in the net to give Wesleyan a 1-0 lead.
Haakon Torvbraaten doubled up the Panthers lead in the 67th minute, as he fired a bullet from 25 yards out that hit the bottom of the crossbar and found it's way into the back of the net. Malone never really threatened and the Panthers came away with a big 2-0 victory.Â
In the defensive minded affair,
Santiago Henrich,
Haakon Torvbraaten, and
Jacob Boling all led with two shots each.
Arthur Hill made two saves in the game, and also notched his third shutout of his career.Â
Now sitting in a tie for sixth in the G-MAC standings with seven games to go, it becomes crunch time for the Panthers. They have a big test on Saturday, as they travel to Painesville, Ohio, to take on the Lake Erie Storm, who reached the NCAA Final Four last season. This season, the Storm sit at third in the conference standings, just two points ahead of the Panthers. They are coming off a 2-1 loss to rival Ashland today. Gametime on Saturday is set for 12 p.m. CT.
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