After falling behind in the first half, the Case Western Reserve University men's soccer team used two unanswered goals to come back and defeat the University of Rochester 2-1 in a University Athletic Association match on Friday evening at DiSanto Field in Cleveland, Ohio.

With the win, the Spartans improved to 8-3-3 overall and 3-1-1 in UAA play. CWRU rose to second place in the conference standings, three points behind #1 University of Chicago (4-0-1), with two matches to play. Case Western Reserve also remained undefeated at home improving to 5-0-1 on the DiSanto Field turf. The Yellowjackets fell to 6-4-4 overall and 1-2-2 in conference play.

Rochester struck first in the 21st minute on a goal by Nick Swanger with assists from Kol Bassuk and Joe Anderson.

Case Western Reserve responded quickly, tying the score just five minutes later on a goal by senior midfielder Matt Vatne. After a ball bounced off a few defenders in the middle of the box, Vatne dribbled toward the post. He snuck a shot from inside the six-yard box past the Yellowjacket goalkeeper to tie the score. It was Vatne's team-leading eighth goal of the season and his conference-leading fourth in UAA play.

Senior goalkeeper Jackson Kallen made a diving save late in the first half to keep the score tied heading into the break. CWRU outshot Rochester 8-2 in the first 45 minutes of play.

The Spartans broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute on a set piece goal. Following a foul about 25 yards from the goal, junior defender Alex Lippiatt perfectly placed a shot on a free kick over a wall of defenders and into the top left corner of the net. It was Lippiatt's second goal of the season.

Kallen and the Case Western Reserve defense kept Rochester off the board for the remainder of the match to secure the win. The teams combined for 30 fouls and six yellow cards in the physical match. Overall, the Spartans recorded 13 shots to the Yellowjackets' four, with Kallen recording one save.

CWRU will play its penultimate UAA match on Sunday, when the team hosts Emory at 10 a.m. at DiSanto Field. Case Western Reserve President Eric Kaler and Executive Director of the Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship Michael Goldberg will provide play-by-play of the match.