Trio of first-half goals vaults Storm to Senior Day win

INDIANOLA, Iowa - The Simpson men's soccer team disposed of Hamline, 3-1, to win its fourth straight match on Senior Day, at Buxton Stadium, Tuesday.

Before the match, Simpson honored ten seniors for their contributions to the program. Levi Culp, Baraka Ellie, Peter Gaspari, Danny Haisch, Ricardo Ibarra, Alan Imamovic, Jack Lammers, Roderick Orellana-Lemus, Logan Rentfrew, and Spencer Young all were celebrated in front of the home crowd.

As for the match, Andrew Russell produced the first chance of the game. Streaming forward from his right back position, the junior's low strike produced a good save from Hamline goalkeeper Ethan Schauer.

However, the Pipers (2-7, 0-3 MIAC) struck first blood, as Jake Sullivan's free kick cross into the box was inadvertently headed into the Simpson net by a Storm defender.

The Storm (8-2, 1-0 A-R-C) heads did not drop though, as Lammers pounced on a misplaced Hamline pass, lofting the ball over Schauer to knot the score up at 1-1 in the 11th minute.

Just over midway through the first half, a lovely exchange of one-touch passing from Simpson at the top of the Hamline box saw Ronaldo Ordaz's layoff be missed by Imamovic, but fell right into the path of Ellie. Ellie's lethal strike was well-saved by Schauer, who got fingertips on it to deflect it onto the crossbar, but the ball bounced right on the goal-line, before trickling over the line. Ellie's goal was his team-leading sixth of the year and his fourth in as many games.

Simpson nearly got their third after, with Orellana-Lemus putting the ball in the net after a pass from Jackson Mears. While the Storm were celebrating, the referees consulted and eventually ruled offside, keeping the score at 2-1.

However, another Piper error allowed Young to score with just 18 seconds left in the half. Young received the ball after a deflected Hamline pass ricocheted into his path. He quickly dribbled into the box before eloquently placing a curled effort into the top-right hand corner, sending the Storm into the half with another goal cushion.

The second half did not have the same breakneck pace as the first, but Ellie provided the first opportunity for Simpson, but another ferocious strike hit the side netting from the right side. Halfway through the second half, Ellie's ball into the box found the head of Mears, but his attempt was well-held by Schauer.

After that, the second half was largely uneventful. There were a few situations for each team that led to potentially dangerous situations, but Simpson controlled most of the ball. The only other chance in the game fell to the Pipers. A pass was played through to Robert Cooper, but Storm goalkeeper Arya Nowroozi came running off his line, where his attempted clearance was blocked by Cooper. With an open net for the taking, Cooper's half-volley attempt sailed over the bar.

The Storm have now won four straight matches, matching their streak to begin the year.

"In terms of our senior class, this has been a group that has been in the program for four and even five years, so they know what it means to be a Storm soccer player," said head coach Rick Isaacson. "They set an example by the way they show up every day by taking a professional approach. That will be passed along to their younger teammates; not just how to win, but how to be professional."

Up Next
The Storm return to American Rivers Conference play by visiting Wartburg, who is receiving votes in this week's United Soccer Coaches National Top 25 Poll. The game will take place Saturday at 3:30 p.m.