Pochop ties career record as Storm remain unbeaten

INDIANOLA, Iowa — Tanner Alderson scored a pair of goals and Garrett Pochop added one — tying the school's career record — and the Simpson men's soccer team remained undefeated with a 3-0 win over Iowa Wesleyan on Wednesday at Buxton Stadium.

The Storm (9-0-1) scored two insurance goals in a 2-minute span midway through the second half behind the dynamic duo of Alderson and Pochop. The Tigers (4-4-1) had won 3 of 4 but fell to 1-3 against the Iowa Conference in 2017.

The Alderson/Pochop duo worked together in the 17th minute to give Simpson an early 1-0 lead as Alderson one-timed a beautiful pass from Pochop from two yards out. The Storm continued to outshoot the Tigers 4-2 for the remainder of the half.

Simpson held the slim lead until the 72nd minute when Pochop connected on a goal from eight yards out. The score gave Simpson a 2-0 lead and increased his career total to 42, tying the mark set by Mitchell White (2011-14). A little over a minute later, Alderson posted his second goal of the night to provide the final tally.

Jake Potratz and Colton Nickell combined for the clean sheet as Simpson held Wesleyan to just eight shots. Potratz made four saves in 78-plus minutes to improve to 8-0-1 while Nickell made one save in relief.

Coach Speak
"I was pleased with our overall performance tonight. We are starting to clean some things up defensively. Keeping a clean sheet against a team with several dangerous attacking players is the biggest positive to take away from this game." — head coach Rick Isaacson.

Numbers & Notes
• Pochop increased his career total to 42 goals to tie the school record held by Mitchell White (2011-14). He needs just one to become the program's leader.

• Alderson (11 goals) and Pochop (10 goals) have combined to score 72% of Simpson's goals this year. Pochop also leads the team with five assists.

• Simpson has gone 37-21-5 in home games under seventh-year head coach Rick Isaacson.

• Simpson improved to 2-0 all-time against Iowa Wesleyan. The only other meeting between the teams was a 5-2 Storm victory in 2012.

• Isaacson used 25 of his 29-man roster in Wednesday's game, a season-high.

Up Next
Simpson returns to league play when it travels to Dubuque on Saturday. The Spartans (5-3-1, 1-0) are coming off a 2-0 loss to Wis.-Platteville on Wednesday evening. Start time is set for 3:30 p.m.