Warhawks men’s soccer defeats Millikin on Senior Day

Two goals within four minutes secures win

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Junior midfielder Taylor Ortiz drives the ball down the field at a home game.

Zach Semancik, Staff Writer

It was the UW-Whitewater underclassman who lead the Warhawks to a 4-2 victory over Millikin University on senior day.

Whitewater jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the 15th minute of play, thanks to a goal from junior midfielder Taylor Ortiz, assisted by freshman midfielder Lucas Monterroso. The goal was Ortiz’s third of the season.

The Warhawks didn’t score again until the start of the second half, but they scored two goals in a span of four minutes, courtesy of sophomore midfielder Dieuvit Emmanuel Mbavumoja and sophomore forward Hozai Ceballos. Junior forward Peter Raymonds, who leads UW-W in goals and assists, assisted on both goals to make the score 3-0.

“That second goal was off a corner, and I went back post,” Raymonds said. “(Kyle) Clancy overhit the ball and thankfully I was there; so, I got the ball back post and just dribbled it out. I just put a ball in right in the six and hopefully somebody got a head on it. Thankfully Dieuvit jumped up, took one for the team, put his head on it, and we got one.”

Millikan fought back, scoring goals in the 73rd and 75th minutes to give themselves two on the scoreboard, but freshman forward Brad Ludwig was able to score his first career goal in between the two Big Blue goals, giving the Warhawks the insurance they needed to come away with the 4-2 victory on senior night.

“I’ve got mixed feelings about the night; I’m happy that we won as a whole and I’m happy with my individual play,” senior goalkeeper Chris Lucatorto said. “But at the same time, it’s the last time I’ll be on this field. It’s best of luck to my 30 best friends in the rest of their years to come.”

The Warhawks will travel to Chicago, Illinois on Sunday and face the North Park University Vikings to kick off a five-game road trip. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.