BRIGHTON, Mich. - Lawrence Tech men's soccer dropped a 2-0 decision to the University of Michigan - Dearborn on Oct. 29 at the Legacy Center in Brighton, Mich. The loss means the Blue Devils are mathematically eliminated from the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) tournament that follows the regular season. The team will wrap up its year on Saturday, Nov. 1 against No. 14-ranked Davenport University (Mich.).
Lawrence Tech (6-11, 2-7 WHAC) struggled to get the offense going to the match as Michigan - Dearborn put pressure on the Blue Devils early. Joey Knoff (SO/Midland, MI) kept a clean sheet though, as he made a big save on Wolverines, Iris Mesic. Mesic and Nate Szymkowicz followed that with two shots before LTU began working its offensive attack.
Matt Gibiec (FR/Saint Joseph, MI) took the first of 21 shots the Blue Devils had in the 13th minute. Four minutes later, Chris Sadocha (JR/Macomb, MI) nearly missed on the team's second shot.
Gibiec made Michigan - Dearborn work on his next shot as Andrew Pietrzak made the save to keep it scoreless. The Blue Devils would not let up as Bart Kowalewski (JR/Washington Twp, MI) took his turn, but was stonewalled. Gibiec continued to pepper Pietrzak, but each time Pietrzak was up to the task and kept it, 0-0.
At halftime, Lawrence Tech outshot Michigan - Dearborn 9-4 and held a 3-0 advantage on corner kicks, but the score remained, 0-0.
The second half was more of the same for Lawrence Tech. The Blue Devils continued to push the ball as they received a corner kick that Pablo Ripodas (FR/Navarra, Spain) tried to get past the Wolverines net minder but came up empty.
Dispute a lack of offense by the Wolverines, Richard Hodnicki found the back of the net for the eventually game-winning goal in the 51st minute. Hodnicki was able to place it in the net from 10 yards out to give the Wolverines a 1-0 lead.
The second half was all LTU, but Michigan - Dearborn took advantage of its limited chances by capitalizing on its opportunities. They did just that in the 90th minute as Mesic made it 2-0 from 25 yards out on an assist from Pietrzak.
Lawrence Tech outshot Michigan - Dearborn 21-6, including 7-3 on shots on goal. The Blue Devils held the statistical advantage in corner kicks (7-0) and fouls (9-16).
