WHEATON, Ill. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's soccer team opened its 2023 season with a 3-1 victory against the Wheaton College Thunder. Friday night's game was the first of two games to be played as part of Wheaton's Bob Baptista Invitational.
The Pioneers' (1-0-0) victory over the Thunder (0-1-0) also marked head coach Jesse Tinney's first win and debut as head coach.
Tied 0-0 going into the 43rd minute, Alester Dawson assisted Justin Williams with the go-ahead goal from five yards out.
Seconds into the second half, Danny Gutzwiller double the lead off a corner kick scramble. Then in the 80th minute, Bryan Higgs, assisted by Brock Jurinek, scored an insurance goal to pull ahead 3-0 with 10 minutes left on the clock.
In the 87th minute, Wheaton's Jack Jacquet eliminated the chance of a shutout when he scored on a PK, but 3-1 remained on the scoreboard as the clock dwindled down.
Overall, the Pioneers held a 12-11 shots advantage with four put on frame.
Seth Aiken (1-0-0) totaled three saves while Mason Escalante (0-1-0) registered one save for the Thunder.
Next up, the Pioneers will face Kalamazoo on the second day of the Bob Baptista Tournament on Saturday, September at 4:30 p.m.
*As with every UW-Platteville win this year, the Platteville A&W will be offering a $3 Pioneer burger the day after the win and the Platteville Taco John's will be offering 10 tacos for $10 the day after each Pioneer win.
