KENOSHA, Wis. — Parkside men's soccer returned to the win column on Friday afternoon, defeating St. Cloud State 2-1 under clear skies at Wood Road Field. It marked the Rangers' first win in nearly two weeks and pushed them to 5-4-4 overall and 5-2-3 in GLIAC play.
The Rangers wasted little time setting the tone. In just the fourth minute, Lucas Ahonen delivered a perfect corner into the box, where Jaime Vazquez met it with a header to the near post for his first goal of the season and a 1-0 Parkside lead. The early strike energized the Rangers, who held St. Cloud State to four first-half shots while creating several dangerous chances of their own.
Despite missing a first-half penalty, Parkside's pressure paid off again early in the second half. In the 55th minute, Yeison Santos intercepted a ball deep in the Huskies' defensive third and played it to Tank Anderson, who threaded a pass across the goal line for Eduardo Aguilera-Guillen. The sophomore calmly tapped in his team-leading seventh goal of the year to double the Rangers' advantage.
The Huskies responded quickly, trimming the deficit less than four minutes later when Owen Worsdell buried a loose ball in the box off a sequence from Andrew Holmes and Andrés García. St. Cloud State pushed hard for an equalizer, outshooting Parkside 14-12 and earning seven corner kicks to Parkside's three, but the Rangers' defense held strong behind goalkeeper Daniyal Rana, who finished with four saves.
Rana, Vazquez, and Aguilera-Guillen led a balanced Parkside effort that showed composure and control down the stretch, handing the Rangers three valuable conference points.
Parkside continues its homestand on Thursday, Oct. 31, hosting Purdue Northwest at noon. For live coverage and streaming links, visit parksideathletics.com/coverage.