No. 25 UW-Whitewater men’s soccer team (1-1) outshot its opponents a combined 48 to 24, but only found a split in the team’s opening two games on Sept. 2-3 in the Illinois Institute of Technology Tournament in Chicago, Illinois.  

The Warhawks fell 1-0 on Sept. 2 vs. Simpson College, but triumphed 5-0 on Sept. 3 vs. Manchester University.

Men’s soccer head coach Tony Guinn said it was unfortunate the team couldn’t go undefeated in the tournament.

“We were by far the best team at the tournament,” Guinn said. “We just didn’t put the ball in the back of the net the first day. The second day, scoring those five goals was great. Having the opportunity to play younger players was great.”

A minute into the first game, it looked as if the Warhawks were going to get an early goal, but Simpson goalie Jake Potratz halted the shot.

UW-W certainly had their chances throughout the game.

The Warhawks had four shots-on-goal stopped in a span of seven minutes from the 54th minute to the 61st minute.

The Warhawks and Storm continued to battle at 0-0 until the 67th minute when Simpson finally broke through and found the back of the net to go up 1-0.

In the 87th minute, the Warhawks had one last effort to tie the game, but junior forward Henry Raymonds’ shot was blocked.  

UW-W ended with 22 shots, 11 on goal, while Simpson had 13 shots, five on goal.

Junior forward Peter Raymonds led the Warhawks’ ultimately unsuccessful attack with seven shots, with four on goal.

The Warhawks offensive presence was finally rewarded in the team’s second game.

First, in the 19th minute when sophomore midfielder Dieuvit Emmanuel Mbavumoja found fellow sophomore midfielder Kevin Mesich for the Warhawks first goal of the season.

UW-W continued their early onslaught with two goals from Peter Raymonds. The first was an unassisted goal in the 23rd minute, while the second was assisted by freshman midfielder Brad Ludwig in the 29th minute.  

Freshman forward Adam Demaster increased the Warhawks’ lead to 4-0 with a goal in 36th minute.

The final Warhawk goal came in the 53rd minute when freshman midfielder Steven Wright connected with freshman forward Jackson Ranck to put the game at 5-0.

Like the first game, the Warhawks exerted pressure on the offensive end. The team ended with 26 shots, half of which were on goal.

The defense, led by senior standout goalie Chris Lucatorto, finished the two-game tournament with just one goal conceded.

Lucatorto had six saves in 135 minutes of action over the two games.

Junior defender and captain Jack Wirth said the Warhawks strong defensive showing wasn’t just because of the defense.

“The best defense is a strong offense, which this year we do have,” Wirth said.

“The fact that were putting on so much pressure from the front with our forwards, it helps everyone defend. That’s a reason why were so strong as a team defensively.”

The Warhawks offensive load was heavily carried by the team’s younger players. Of the eight players involved in the Warhawks five goals, six were underclassmen.

Lucatorto, a team captain, noted what it’s like to lead such a young squad.

“It’s a good, but difficult thing,” Lucatorto said. “The young guys need to buy into Whitewater as a whole. They’ve gotten their first taste of a big Whitewater win, which I think has them excited to move forward.”

Up next for the men’s soccer team will be their home opener at Fiskum Field on Sept. 6 vs. Olivet College.