BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The Illinois Wesleyan men's soccer team defeated the Greenville University Panthers on Saturday, September 23 by a final score of 5-1. Sophomore Patrick Hickey tallied two goals in the second half of action to increase his season total to three.

This win marks the second consecutive victory for the Titans as they improved to 4-3-1 on the season. Greenville fell to 4-4-0 with a loss on Saturday.

Illinois Wesleyan controlled the flow of the match early, forcing Greenville keeper Nick Holland to make four saves in the first 30 minutes of action. It was Greenville who broke the tie however, scoring their only goal of the game in the 32nd minute.

Less than a minute later, junior Blake Tempel weaved his way through the Panther defense to score the Titans first goal of the evening off an assist from junior Ben Nielsen. In total the Titans took nine shots with six falling on goal in the first half.

Hickey wasted no time in the second half, scoring from inside the box off an assist from sophomore Jack Dilger to give his team a lead in the 47th minute. In the 77th minute Hickey then collected a brace thanks to a corner kick assist from senior Ryan Kaplan.

Hickey's second goal opened the floodgates for the Illinois Wesleyan offense who scored two more times before the action concluded. In the 82nd minute sophomore Doug Ballard's shot snuck past the glove of Holland who was unable to keep the ball in front of the goal line. Sophomore Justin Yaeger collected the assist on Ballard's goal.

Sophomore Konrad Wasilewski scored the Titans final goal, unassisted, in the 88th minute.

Junior's Mason Maier and Ben Nielsen, sophomore's Yaeger and Orion Marty, and freshman Keagan James and Bobby Reichert also took shots on goal for IWU. In total the Titans out-shot Greenville 20-5 and took 12 corner kicks to Greenville's two.

Freshman Joe Johnson earned his third career victory in goal to improve to 3-1-0 on the season. Holland allowed all five of IWU's goals and made eight saves for the Panthers.

What's Next?

Illinois Wesleyan continues their home stand and will face Webster University on Tuesday, September 26. Webster currently holds a season record of 4-2-1, but will face UW-Whitewater prior to their match against the Titans.