FULTON, Mo. – The Westminster men's soccer team lost a hard fought game to SLIAC leading Iowa Wesleyan 5-3 on Tuesday night. The Blue Jays drop to 5-10 on the season and 5-3 in conference.
The Tigers scored first with a goal 17:29 into the first half. The early lead was short-lived as Justin Gerdiman scored a goal off a pass from Philip Udinyiwe to tie the game at 1-1. Iowa Wesleyan retook the lead in the 29th minute and went into halftime leading 2-1.
Westminster tied the game in the 61st minute when Sam Heckart scored on a header from Gerdiman's corner kick. The goal was Heckart's third of the season. In the 66th the Blue Jays were awarded a penalty kick following a foul by Iowa Wesleyan. Matthew Schulte took the penalty kick and beat the keeper to put Westminster up 3-2.
However, the Tigers came roaring back and tied the game in the 73rd minute. Iowa Wesley took a late lead when Westminster goalie Connor Bandre' leaped to save a high shot and lost control of the ball when he hit the ground. The Tigers added an insurance goal in the final minute and went on to win 5-3.
The Blue Jays will close out the regular season on Saturday at Principia.