Oct. 14, 2009 – A goal by Lewis (Ill.) University’s Charlie Bucio in the 37th minute held up for the visiting Flyers, as the 8th-ranked Truman men’s soccer team suffered a 1-0 setback on a cold and wet Wednesday afternoon at the Truman Soccer Pitch.
Bucio put away a bouncing ball in front of the net to give Lewis a 1-0 lead, which proved to be enough in a battle of two playoff-caliber teams. Lewis (10-3-1) entered the match with the No. 4 spot in the Midwest region, while Truman (9-2-1) entered as the South Central region’s No. 2 squad.
The Bulldogs tried to capitalize on chances throughout the match, out-shooting Lewis, 17-13, but took only one of its six shots on goal in the final 30 minutes as Lewis slowed pace of play late in the second half.
Bobby Larkin had two of Truman’s six attempts on net, and Andy Chapman led all Bulldogs on the afternoon with four total shots. Goalkeeper Tyler Knierim turned away five Lewis attempts and made a diving save on a shot to the lower left corner by the Flyers’ Nestor Hernandez in the 80th minute to keep Truman in the match.
The loss snapped a ten-match unbeaten streak that dated back to the season-opener for the Bulldogs, who will travel to Upper Iowa University for a match on Sunday afternoon. The ten-match stretch was the longest for the program in four years since a 12-match unbeaten stretch to end the 2005 season.