Illinois Wesleyan snaps Simpson shutout streak

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Jeff Graham snapped Simpson's shutout streak as Illinois Wesleyan beat the men's soccer team 1-0 on Sunday afternoon.

Graham took a feed from Kyle Gorgol and connected from 15 yards out for the Titans (4-0), who remained perfect with the win.

Illinois Wesleyan outshot the Storm (4-1) 20-9 on the day, forcing goalkeeper Luke Aronow to make a season-high nine saves.

"We lost to a better team today," head coach Rick Isaacson said. "Illinois Wesleyan is a quality side and it was certainly sharp on this day."

Graham's goal stopped Simpson's shutout streak at four games, a mark which tied for the longest in school history. The Storm went 408 minutes, 25 seconds before giving up the season's first goal.

Despite taking only nine shots, Simpson did have some quality chances.

In the ninth minute, Spencer Cook one-timed a pass from Tyler Neumann but fired high at the open net. Then, in the final minutes, Mitchell White and Matt Loney had a chance to tie the game off a corner kick. White headed the initial serve from Mark Lahart, which was saved by keeper Tim Hegwood. Loney took the rebound and hit the far post before the Titan defense cleared.

"Its now our responsibility to learn from this game, make the necessary adjustments and begin looking toward Nebraska Wesleyan on Wednesday night," Isaacson said.

The Storm host the Prairie Wolves at 7 p.m.