LIVONIA, Mich. - The Madonna University men's soccer team pulled out a victory against Concordia University-Ann Arbor at the Madonna Athletics Complex with the lone goal coming from Issei Ito. The win puts the Crusaders to 7-2-0 overall and 2-0-0 in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play while the Cardinals drop to 2-7-0 on the year and 0-2-0 in league play.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• FIRST HALF

  • Both teams started aggressively with the first shot of the game coming just three minutes in by Concordia's Phillip Vrzovski, but it was well over the net.

  • Madonna dominated possession most of the first half, drawing out six fouls from the Cardinal defense. The Blue and Gold had several chances, but could not convert in the first 45.

• SECOND HALF

  • The Crusaders continued their possession game into the second half, with six shots coming in the first 20 minutes.

  • In the 74th minute, Ito finally broke the deadlock as he ran down a ball over the defense and tucked it into the bottom corner for the game-winner.

INSIDE THE BOX

• The Crusaders outshot the Cardinals 18-9, with 10 shots on goal compared to just two for LTU.

• Joe Smith recorded the shutout, making two saves on the day.

• Ito, Freitas, Ludvick Asigo, and Caio Mazzo Nogueira all tied for the most shots with three.

UP NEXT

• The Crusaders return to Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play on Saturday, Sept. 29 against Siena Heights University at the Madonna Athletic Complex at 3:00 p.m. The game is part of Homecoming 2018. Get the full schedule at madonnna.edu/homecoming

• Live coverage of the contest will be available on the Madonna Athletics Network at www.mucrusaders.com/live.

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