Alderson, Pochop lead Storm to comeback win at Principia

ELSAH, Ill. — For the second time in the last four games, the Simpson men's soccer team found itself in a 1-0 hole. And for the second time in the last four games, the team rallied for a comeback win.

Tanner Alderson and Garrett Pochop scored second-half goals, Pochop added an assist and Simpson came back to beat Principia 2-1 on Saturday to remain undefeated.

Pochop assisted on Alderson's goal in the 60th minute to make it a 1-1 game, then connected on the game-winner with less than six minutes to play as the Storm (6-0) won their fourth one-goal game of the season.

Kaleb Keller found the back of the net in the 40th minute to give the the Panthers (1-4) the early advantage. But Colton Nickell kept Principia out of the net the rest of the way as the Storm allowed just two shots in the second half.

Simpson dominated statistically, outshooting Principia 22-6 while taking 11 corner kicks to just one for the Panthers.

Coach Speak
"We headed to St. Louis with the intent to return home with two wins. We accomplished that goal despite playing below our standards. We are pleased to be 6-0 but we know we've still got a lot of work to do if we expect to reach our long-term goals." — head coach Rick Isaacson

Notables
• Simpson's 6-0 start matches that of the 2003 squad that also began the season 6-0. Rick Isaacson's 2013 team holds the mark for longest unbeaten streak to start a season at nine games in 2013 (7-0-2).

• Simpson is one of two teams in the Iowa Conference without a loss or a tie on the season. The other is Central, who moved to 5-0 with a 3-1 win over Westminster on Saturday. The two teams open Iowa Conference play at Buxton Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 23.

• With the ninth game-winner of his career, Pochop moved one step closer to etching his name in the Simpson career record book. His 38 career goals is just five away from passing Mitchell White (42 goals from 2011-14) as the program's career leader.

Up Next
The Storm travel to St. Paul, Minn. on Wednesday, Sept. 20 for a non-conference clash with Bethel. The Royals (2-4-1) lost to Augsburg 2-1 on Saturday.