Wabash College junior midfielder Alexiz Arellano scored his second goal of the season to provide the Little Giants with a 1-0 victory at Fischer Field over DePauw Tuesday evening.

The victory snapped a 17-year streak without a victory for the Little Giants against DePauw. Wabash remain in second place in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings and plays host to conference-leading Kenyon College on Saturday with league championship implications.
 
Both teams played a very physical match, as was to be expected. A total of 30 fouls were called in the game – 16 against Wabash and 14 against DePauw. One yellow card was handed out, and that was to senior defensemen Rodrigo Porras in the 27^th minute of the first half. The Little Giants had to play physical to establish themselves in the game against a bigger DePauw soccer team that controlled play throughout much of the match.
 
The first half was a balanced effort in terms of time-of-possession. As the tension was building in anticipation of the first goal, Arellano settled the ball from the air, composed himself, and blasted a highlight-reel goal into the back of the net from 40 yards out in the 32nd minute.
 
"That was a pro-league type goal, one of the best goals you'll see all year," Wabash head coach Chris Keller said.
 
Wabash took the momentum from the first half and translated it to defensive strength in the second half. DePauw controlled the ball on their side of the field for the majority of the second half. It seemed as though the Tigers were always trying to enter the ball into the box, throwing it in, or entering a corner kick. The Little Giants turned in a marvelous defensive effort throughout the second half, continuously clearing the ball and dodging DePauw bullets, which especially was on display during the final minutes of the game when DePauw got off four corner kicks as the seconds ticked away.
 
"We kept our composure, maintained our clearances, and were first to the ball and that fortified our stand down the stretch," Keller added. "Our experienced backline really rose to the occasion. We've been maturing and building every year. We still have the same chip on our shoulder that we did when we started the season. We are going to continue to work hard and work for each other."

Dayton Jennings made a pair of saves while facing 13 total shots for his sixth shutout of the season and fourth in the last five games.
 
The Little Giants move on to their match against first-place NCAC foe Kenyon College on Saturday at 1 p.m. The winner of the contest will secure the conference regular season title. Wabash could earn a home game berth in the upcoming conference tournament with a win Saturday or with a loss by Oberlin College in either its Tuesday night or Saturday matches.