Sport in world

Summit League finale and senior day set for Leathernecks

December 8, 2007 on 8:40 pm | In Athletics |

MACOMB, Ill. The Western Illinois men’s soccer team closes out regular season play this weekend with a Summit League finale at Oral Roberts, November 9, and senior day at John MacKenzie Alumni Field November 11, against Central Arkansas.

The Leathernecks, (6-9-3, 2-2-1 Summit) coming off a 3-0 win at IPFW, move into a tie for third place in the Summit League standings. Junior forward Dwain Barker (Barbados/Illinois Central College) scored at 1:22 into the match to help lead Western to victory. Senior defender Phil Duret (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney) scored late in the first half, while freshman Kevin Hinds (Charleston, Ill./Charleston) added a goal in the second half to stretch the lead to three goals. Earlier in the week, Western fell 2-1 to No. 12 Northwestern. Duret scored the lone goal in the loss.

Oral Roberts
The Golden Eagles, (6-10-0, 2-3-0 Summit) coming off a 1-0 loss at home to IUPUI, dropped to fifth place in conference. In league play, ORU has played strong defensively, allowing just four goals in five games. Offensively, Juan Chang leads the attack for the Golden Eagles with 19 points (8 goals, 2 assists), which ranks him second in conference.

Friday marks the 15th meeting all-time between the schools. Western won last season’s matchup in Macomb, 6-1. Matt Wieclaw recorded a hat trick in the victory. Preston Bernardi (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) also scored a goal, while Martin Browne, Jr. (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Osseo) registered two assists. The Leathernecks lead the all-time series 8-3-2.

Central Arkansas
In their second season at the Division-I level, the Bears (6-8-0) have hit the road 10 times competing as an independent. UCA played in the Diadora/Comfort Inn Missouri State Tournament earlier this season, but did not compete against Western. The Bears went 1-1 in the tournament, defeating Missouri State 2-1 and losing to Drake 1-2. They have competed against two other common opponents for Western, defeating Centenary 2-1, and dropping their most recent contest to Bradley, 1-0.

This will be the first meeting between the Western Illinois and Central Arkansas.

Tournament chances
After going winless in their first three league matchups, the Leathernecks have won their last two, placing them in a tie for third place. A win or tie in their final Summit League game against ORU guarantees Western a spot in the conference tournament.

Player of the Week
After scoring two goals in two games, Duret was named Summit League Defensive player of the week. His goal at No. 12 Northwestern was the first of his career. Duret followed up with a goal in Western’s 3-0 victory over IPFW.

Time changes
There have been two time changes to Western’s schedule for their final weekend. The matchup at Oral Roberts was changed from 7 p.m. to 4 p.m., while the Central Arkansas game will be played at 11 a.m instead of 1 p.m.

Senior day
Sunday’s game is senior day for Western Illinois. Seniors Bernardi, Duret, Jonathan Fridal, Greg Jones, Stefan King and J.J. Stefanic will be honored before the game.
Originaly from Source