VALPARAISO | Isaac Withrow finally got a shot past Portage keeper Cody Simmons.
Withrow was stoned in three-first half chances by Simmons, but his fourth chance found the back of the net late in the second half for the only goal of the game as the Times No. 3 Vikings beat the Indians 1-0 on Wednesday.
“He just takes people on,” Valparaiso coach Danny Jeftich said of Withrow. “He’s a very confident player, he’s a senior. To be able to put it in the corner from that tough angle is very difficult.”
The win clinched at least a share of the Duneland Athletic Conference regular-season title for the Vikings (13-2, 6-1 DAC).
Withrow took a pass from Nick Hathoot in the 68th minute, made a run down the sideline and cut in toward the net. He took a shot from just near the endline that got past Simmons and into the back of the net.
The Vikings had a 12-3 advantage in shots on goal, with six coming in each half.
“I felt at the end of the day that if we kept knocking on the door, we would get one to go in, and Isaac made that run,” Jeftich said.
Simmons made 11 stops for the Indians (8-7, 3-4 DAC).
Ethan Lehnen and Andrew Fletcher split time in net and combined to make three stops and get the shutout for the Vikings.
Withrow had three quality scoring chances in a six-minute span late in the first half. First he put a shot off the post from 10 yards out. A few minutes later, he had two chances from eight yards away as he got a rebound of his initial shot, Simmons stopped both shots.
Yamen Atassi had a chance for the Vikings with five minutes left in the half, but his shot from 10 yards went wide.
Please Wait…
