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Soccer keeps hopes alive

Sophomore forward Roman Schindler scored on a set piece header against Oakland. Photo via Scout Archives.

The Bradley soccer team’s postseason dreams remain a possibility. The Braves (7-4-4) got back in the win column on the road, with a much-needed conference win over Drake University (6-5-2). The Braves also got a non-conference 1-1 draw against Oakland University (7-6-3).

As a result of the conference win, Bradley now has a chance to qualify for the MVC Men’s Soccer Championship in November. The Braves (now 1-4 in MVC) will have to defeat the University of Evansville (3-6-6, 1-2-1 in MVC) in their last regular-season match on Nov. 3 at Shea Stadium.

On Saturday against Drake, the first half was a difficult one for the Braves as the Bulldogs outshot them 12-1.

Redshirt junior goalkeeper Albert Reinwart and freshman forward Nick Feeney’s defense helped keep the first half scoreless. Reinwart made three saves, while Feeney headed the ball off the line from a corner kick and deflected a shot from six yards out.

Bradley head coach Jim DeRose said that the Braves struggled a lot in the first half.

“We were wildly outplayed and out possessed,” DeRose said. “We might have been thinking too much that we needed to win. Fortunately, we got to halftime 0-0. And credit to the guys, they controlled their own destiny.”

The Braves figured it out both defensively and offensively in the second half. Eight out of their nine second-half shots were on target. Drake goalkeeper Jared Brown made impressive efforts, however, to keep Bradley from putting anything in the back of the net.

The second half also ended scoreless, requiring the game to go into extra time, which is nothing new to the Braves, as they’ve done it in five games this season.

Bradley put the game away in the 100th minute with a perfectly executed team counter-attack. Redshirt junior forward Jha’Lon Johnson received possession from a misplaced Drake clearance. Johnson then began the Braves’ counter by switching the field with a pass to senior forward Frank Bak, who then played the ball to fellow senior forward Austin Bell.

Bell cut it back near the corner of the 18-yard box and served a cross into the box that met sophomore forward Gerit Wintermeyer’s head. Wintermeyer finished his headed effort into Drake’s net to seal the game 1-0 and score his fourth game-winner of the year.

Junior forward Roman Schindler said he tried to encourage the team that they had a chance against Drake to continue pushing for a postseason run.

‘I told the guys against Valparaiso that we just need to believe in ourselves, because no one else did aside from the coaching staff and Bradley University,” Schindler said. “Now, we have to win against Evansville. I’m positive that we can win the tournament. This is the team goal. Individually, I want to help as much as possible and score goals and get assists.”

Wintermeyer and Reinwart won the MVC Offensive Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week awards, respectively.

Wintermeyer, who has recorded six goals and two assists in 15 games, is the team’s leading goalscorer this season. Reinwart, who’s started 13 out of 15 games, secured his fourth clean sheet of the season after the win against Drake.

On a very windy Tuesday night, Bradley took on Oakland in its final away, non-conference game of the season at Oakland Soccer Field.

The Golden Grizzlies took the advantage first after scoring in the 21st minute when redshirt freshman defender Alfa Berry kicked a knuckleball from 30 yards out to stun the Braves. Oakland’s 1-0 lead would stand for the remainder of the first half.

Junior forward Roman Schindler evened the score two minutes into the second half for the Braves with a header that originated from a set piece.

Junior midfielder John Pollifrone drew a foul in Oakland’s defensive third and then passed his free kick to Bak, who then crossed to Schindler at the far post to score.

“I had a little streak of not scoring, so the last couple of weeks we’ve been struggling with winning again,” Schindler said. “Then we got the tiebreaker [against Oakland]. We were really frustrated we didn’t win this game, because we should have won it.”

The game went into double extra time, but ended up scoreless. Bradley finished its regular-season away schedule 3-2-2, the first positive on-the-road record since 2013.

They also extended their undefeated streak in non-conference matches to 13 games straight, with seven wins and six draws. This streak dates back to Oct. 31, 2017.

DeRose said he was happy to have Schindler back on the squad, especially with how injuries have been hurting the team this season.

“[The recent results have] helped with the ways things have been with injuries and moving people around,” DeRose said. “Roman [Schindler] missed several games due to injury, so it’s been nice to have him back. It’s just nice to have [some of the player] all back together.”

Bradley concludes its non-conference season against Western Illinois University on at 2 p.m. Saturday at Shea Stadium. The Braves will look to complete their second-longest non-conference unbeaten streak in program history.

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