A tight defensive battle at Fischer Field Wednesday evening turned into a 1-0 loss for the Wabash soccer team in its match against Rose-Hulman.
 
A loose ball found the foot of Rose-Hulman's Cobi Illian who drilled a shot into the goal for the lone score in the 28^th minute of the contest.
 
"We knew going into the game that Rose-Hulman is one of the most organized teams in the country," Wabash head coach Chris Keller said. "Coach (Sean) Helliwell does a good job organizing their two blocks of four. They make it difficult for us to play through. I still thought we created enough chances to put them away. We had a couple of shots in front of the net that we didn't put in. At this level Rose-Hulman will punish you for your mistakes. These past two games we've just missed out on chances to score four or five goals. Credit Rose-Hulman for securing the win today."
 
The Little Giants outshot Rose (3-1-1) 12-6 overall. The Fightin' Engineers limited Wabash to five shots on goal compared to three for Rose. Francisco Trejo led the squad with two shots on goal. Stojan Krsteski, Bayden Lee, and Gabriel Anguiano each finished with on shot on goal. Freshman Michael Zubeck fired a blast toward the net late in the match that just sailed over the top of the crossbar.
 
Demitri Lee recorded two saves in his start at goalkeeper. Rose-Hulman's Carter Wright picked up four saves.
 
The Little Giants will look to rebound from two consecutive losses by heading west for two road games over the weekend.
 
"A year ago when we started off a little slower than we have this year, we were not playing well," Keller said. "I think we've played well in all four games this year. I told the guys that we're playing good soccer. We're just getting a deflection here and there defensively like we did tonight. They just need to keep their heads up and be ready to go this weekend."
 
Wabash (2-2) travels to the St. Louis area to play at Fontbonne University on Saturday and at Monmouth College Sunday.