Skip To Main Content

Roosevelt University

Luca Swinton vs. Hope
Mario Bataz
2
Roosevelt RU (0-0-1, 0-0-0)
2
Upper Iowa UIU (0-0-1, 0-0-0)
Roosevelt RU
(0-0-1, 0-0-0)
2
Final
2
Upper Iowa UIU
(0-0-1, 0-0-0)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Roosevelt RU 0 2 2
Upper Iowa UIU 0 2 2

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

Wild Second Half Leaves Roosevelt With Draw

FAYETTE, Iowa – A wild second half left Roosevelt with a 2-2 draw in its season opener Thursday night against Upper Iowa in Fayette, Iowa.

The Lakers (0-0-1) had almost all of the offensive opportunities in the first half, outshooting the Peacocks 5-0 in the opening 45 minutes. Despite just one of the shots landing on goal, Roosevelt continued to apply the pressure in other ways by winning two corner kicks and threatening with a large amount of possession in the attacking quarter.

Upper Iowa took the lead 15 minutes into the second half, but Roosevelt responded 10 minutes later courtesy of a Luca Swinton goal in the 74th minute. Swinton expertly placed the free kick from about 25 yards out into the upper left corner of the net to tie the game. Matteo Chiti gave the Lakers the lead with roughly seven minutes left when he finished a cross from Nick Killian at the back post. However, the Peacocks responded with 74 seconds remaining to secure a tie.

SHOT DISCREPANCY: Roosevelt led Upper Iowa in shoot attempts 14-3, but the Peacocks landed all three shots on target and the Lakers put just five attempts on frame. The Lakers held onto the ball for 53 percent of the match and limited the Peacocks to just 17 percent possession in its attacking quarter, which is why Eric Carvajal made just one save in goal.

NEW FACES STEP UP: It was the pair of transfers from Olivet Nazarene that made the largest impact for Roosevelt on Thursday. Both Killian and Swinton joined Roosevelt this season after playing against the Lakers for at least the past two seasons. Swinton's free-kick goal brought some much-needed energy to the Lakers, who were dominating the game in terms of scoring chances but hadn't seen the payoff yet. Killian's feed to Chiti showcased why he was an NAIA All-American last season, and set up what almost was a game-winner late in the match.  

UP NEXT: Roosevelt returns home on Sept. 12 for its home opener at 5 p.m. against Thomas More at Morris Field. These two programs last played in 2022 as NAIA programs with the Saints winning 1-0 in Arlington Heights.  
 
Print Friendly Version