AURORA, Ill. – The MSOE men's soccer team advanced to the Championship of the 2026 NACC Tournament on Wednesday night, as the Red and White flipped the script on the No. 2 seed Aurora Spartans, with the Raiders scoring a game-winning penalty kick as they avenge their lone conference loss.
RESULT
No. 3 MSOE RAIDERS – 2
No. 2 Aurora Spartans – 1
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Raiders (12-4-4, 8-1-3 NACC) and Spartans (13-5-1, 9-3-0 NACC) were locked in a defensive battle across the opening 30 minutes of the game, with both teams combining for just four shots, with three coming from the Red and White. Both Steven Thomas and Nico Picha were denied by the Spartans goaltender, before Aurora would seize the first lead of the game in their first shot on goal, going up 1-0 at the 31:59 mark of the first half.
- The Raiders would need a tick more than five minutes before they would respond to the Aurora goal, as Lachlan Ladd found freshman Andrew Calderon for the equalizer, and their first goal against the Spartans this season. The Spartans would up their urgency on the offensive end to close the first half, but Peter Yehle and the MSOE defense would stand tall, with Dean Schaefer recording three saves in the final ten minutes of the first half as the teams would remain deadlocked heading to halftime.
- Coming out of the break, both teams would exchange shots in hopes of scoring a go-ahead goal, with Chase Frea and the Raider defense turning away six Aurora shots in the second half. After Filip Aniecko and Picha were both turned away on good scoring chances for the Red and White, the Spartans would commit a foul against MSOE, with Ditar Useni stepping up on a penalty-kick opportunity. The junior from Glencoe, Illinois would come through in the clutch for his team, sending a rocket off his right foot to the top right corner of the goal, giving MSOE a 2-1 lead with just under 25 minutes left in regulation.
- From there, the Raiders would hold off the No. 2 seed and earn their ticket back to the NACC Championship, their fourth straight NACC title game. With the win, the current crop of four-year seniors have played for the conference championship in every season with the Red and White.
MSOE STAT TRACKER
Shots on Goal –
Nico Picha (2)
Goals –
Andrew Calderon and
Ditar Useni (1)
Assists –
Lachlan Ladd (1)
Saves –
Dean Schaefer (6)
WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders will head to Madison, Wisconsin for the NACC Championship this Saturday, November 7
th, against the No. 1 seed and regular season champion Edgewood Eagles. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 P.M.
For up-to-the-minute MSOE Raiders news, visit us at
MSOERaiders.com. You can also follow the Red & White on Twitter
@MSOE_Raiders and
@msoe_raiders on Instagram.
