TIFFIN, OH. – The Kentucky Wesleyan College men's soccer team issued the first upset of the Great Midwest Championship Tournament on Thursday morning with a 1-0 victory over the second seed Cedarville University. Wesleyan not only advanced to its second consecutive G-MAC Championship, but they also snapped the Yellowjackets 19-match unbeaten streak. Four days after breaking the program record for matches played, Haakon Torvbraaten made his 72^nd career start for the Panthers on Thursday, another program record. The honor comes along with being named First Team All-Conference after the match. 
 
The previously unbeaten Cedarville navigated its way through the regular season with a 11-0-7 mark. Their streak began November 2^nd, 2024 with a 2-1 win over Thomas More. In their impressive run, the Yellowjackets have only conceded 12 goals, now four of those blemishes came from the Panthers. 
 
The regionally ranked 5^th and nationally ranked 17^th Yellowjackets, held the advantage for the duration of the first half on a wind-swept pitch. The Panthers (10-3-7) were regulated to playing defense throughout the opening 45 minutes, not getting one shot off on their counterparts. In comparison, Cedarville took seven shots in the first period, three on goal. Iver Sjavag was up to the task, making all three saves. 
 
The Panthers held the wind advantage in the second half, making it easier to play over the top and move downfield. Wesleyan came out of intermission with renewed energy despite the 9AM CT start time. In the 52^ndminute, the captain, Haakon Torvbraaten held possession square to the Cedarville goal, he passed right to Nicklas Henriksen at the top of the box, who fired a shot between two defenders, beating the keeper to the left. 
 
The first goal of the match forced Cedarville to become more aggressive for the remaining 38 minutes. The Yellowjackets continued to maneuver downfield into the Panthers zone, but it was a collective effort from the Panthers' back line led by Jhaeem Bryan. The Panthers defended corner kicks, free kicks, and throw-ins that all resulted in shot attempts. Those efforts were thwarted each time by the Wesleyan wall of defense or Sjavag. 
 
Cedarville took three consecutive shots in the 80^th minute and had their best chance to score in the 86^thminute from Christian Nardelli. Sjavag made the save to preserve a clean sheet, his sixth shutout of the year. 
 
The Yellowjackets out-shot the Panthers 18-2 on the day, but Wesleyan and Henriksen made good on one of those attempts. The Panthers have advanced to their second consecutive G-MAC Title match. Wesleyan was defeated by Findlay 1-0 in last year's championship. 
 
Wesleyan will face Tiffin University in the 2025 Championship on Saturday. The Dragons defeated Findlay 2-0 this afternoon. The Panthers previously tied Tiffin during the regular season. The match at The Paradiso Athletic Fields is scheduled to start at 12PM CT. 
 
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