After two convincing wins over two top 25 opponents, the Baker University men’s soccer team has found itself ranked No. 3 in the region and No. 19 in the nation.
“It was a fantastic weekend,” he said. “The guys ground out two big results against two teams ranked in the top 25 nationally. It was an excellent weekend for us.”
View photos from soccer's win streak.<a href="http://www.bakeru.edu/orangeline/0708slideshows/mensoccerwinstreak" target="_blank">View photos from soccer's win streak.</a> View photos from soccer’s win streak.
The Wildcats’ outstanding weekend came in spite of an early slow start. Friday night, Hannibal-LaGrange College found itself leading the Wildcats 1-0 going into the break. The only goal of the first half came on an own goal by Baker defender Owen Barnhart.
Koch made a few changes in the second half and things started to click for the ‘Cats. In the 65th minute senior Travis Moore took a free kick from just beyond the 18-yard box, bent it around the defensive wall and into the net, evening the score at 1-1.
Just a short time later, sophomore Sebastian Koepf gave Baker a 2-1 lead when he scored his team-high third goal of the season in the 75th minute of action.
In the 90th minute, Koepf had another opportunity to score but was taken down hard inside the 18-yard box and Baker was awarded a penalty kick.
Senior Josh McDaniel drilled the penalty kick home and sealed the game for the ‘Cats as they went on to win 3-1.
The ‘Cats had a short time to celebrate their win before they took on No. 12 Grand View College Saturday at Liston Stadium.
The team saw no hangover effect from its victory as it claimed a 2-1 victory over Grand View.
Sophomore Luke Haidarovic scored his first goal of the season and junior Jon Baldwin’s diving header into the net proved to be the game-winning goal for Baker.
Despite victories in both games, Moore said the team has yet to play a complete game.
“We played well this weekend,” he said “But we have to play a full 90 minutes. We have played well for bits and pieces, but we have not played a complete game. Coach is always saying we need to play for a full 90 minutes and we haven’t yet, but we showed we have what it takes to grind out wins.”
Junior Matt Hodges said the team will see its full potential when it plays an entire game.
“When we put together a full 90 minutes, we are going to be tough to beat,” he said.
The Wildcats are now 4-1 overall. Baker will travel to Oklahoma City to face Oklahoma City University today and Southern Nazarene University Saturday. Both teams are ranked nationally in the top 25.
Koch said his team has two major obstacles in its path, but sees no reason why his team should not be successful.
“Both of these games are big time games,” he said. “On the road they are going to be a very big challenge but we have beaten teams in the top 25 already, so I don’t see why we can’t go beat two more teams ranked in the top 25.”
