Box Score | Season Stats
(WICHITA, Kan.) - - The 9th-ranked Truman men's soccer team capped its NCAA tournament résumé with a final statement on Sunday morning by notching a 3-1 win against Texas A&M-International on the campus of Newman University. Senior Dan Meagher closed his weekend with a goal and an assist, while junior Charlie Backus handed out a pair of assists.
Truman (12-2-2) has now gone unbeaten in its last 12 matches and will await word on Monday evening to find out if it has qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005. The Bulldogs were ranked second in the South Central region entering the weekend and won twice against a pair of Heartland conference and regional foes.
Meagher (Chesterfield, Mo., SLU High) got things going in the 14th minute when he headed in a Backus (St. Louis, Mo., CBC) corner kick to put the 'Dogs ahead, 1-0. Then, less than five minutes later, Backus connected with senior Ben Friesen (Raymore, Mo., Raymore-Peculiar) for his second goal of the season and a two-goal margin. Truman outshot TAM-I (10-6-2), 8-4, in the opening 45 minutes and earned four corner kicks.
Out of the break, senior Bobby Larkin (St. Louis, Mo., Parkway) – the NCAA's leader in assists across all three divisions with 16 – found himself on the other end of a goal, logging his fourth tally of the season after corralling a short pass from Meagher in the 47th minute.
TAM-I would get on the board in the 62nd minute, but sophomore goalkeeper Tyler Knierim (Hartsburg, Mo., Southern Boone) made two more saves in the frame to preserve the 3-1 Truman victory.
The Bulldogs reached the end of the regular season having earned a decision in each of its last 12 matches, with its last loss coming more than a month and a half ago on Sept. 17.
NCAA championship selections will take place on Monday (Nov. 8) night, via a webcast selection show on NCAA.com. The show will cover both the men's and women's selection announcements and will begin promptly at 6 pm.
