Box Score
The UW-Parkside team is well on its way to posting its 31st consecutive winning season. The Rangers made it two wins in as many tries as they topped visiting Robert Morris, 3-1, Thursday afternoon. This after a convincing 6-0 trouncing of Calumet College of Saint Joseph the previous Thursday.
Things didn't look good for the home team at Wood Road Field in the early going. Frane Srimic beat Ranger netminder Ryan Onwukwe in the ninth minute to give the Eagles a 1-0 advantage.
Parkside answered back at 29:34 when Tim Thao got the best of Eagle goalkeeper Jose Cornejo at 29:34. Thao took advantage of the ball pinballing with assists credited to Carlos Contreras and Spencer Bursten.
The score remained 1-1 at halftime.
“In the first half, every one of our players were lax and casual,” admitted UW-Parkside associate head coach Jason Zitzke. “We were slow in decision making and everything we should have done, we didn't.
Things changed in the second 45 minutes after corrections were made in the locker room. Parkside scored what proved to be the game-winner 2:26 into the second half. Jose Alfaro passed the ball from the flank to Spencer Bursten at the far post. Bursten made no mistake.
The Rangers tacked on at 14:25 when an Eagle defender slipped and fell, allowing Cyril Simmons to move in and score.
“The second half we just played simple,” explained Zitzke. “We had good one and two touches and let the ball do the work. We were much more organized defensively.”
Robert Morris, an NAIA school which competes in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, slipped to 1-2.
The Rangers will open Great Lakes Valley Conference play Sunday, Sept. 5, at Missouri S&T.
“We are looking forward to competing against our next opponent,” said Zitzke. “They are one of the top defensive teams in the league. It will definitely be a tough test on the road.”
You can follow live stats of that contest by going to:
www.sidearmstats.com/mst/msoc
