The men’s soccer team defeated Methodist University 5-0 on Sept. 22, which is the most goals the team has scored in a game since they defeated Methodist on Sept. 7, 2016. The high scoring streak did not stop there as the Marlins turned around and captured another 5-0 victory over Emory and Henry on Sept. 28.
“It’s really a mentality. Once the team saw what we’re capable of…we just had to execute the game plan the coach gave us and just really have fun,” senior Devin Wallace said. Wallace logged a goal in the first game against Methodist and then another against Emory and Henry.
In the home game against Methodist, sophomore Scott Signorelli got the scoring started as he recorded the first two goals for the Marlins. The first came at the 7’ mark and the second just five minutes later at 12:29.
“They came pretty quick one after another, but we had a good week in practice leading up to the game, so that was a big confidence booster for me personally,” Signorelli said.
The third goal of the game also came in the first half as Wallace scored off of an assist from junior Kevin Prophet. Senior Will Augsberger scored the fourth goal off of a penalty kick and freshman Andrew Glass ended the game with a fifth goal at the 89’. While the offence was hot, the defense was also effective as sophomore goalkeeper Griffin Potter earned a shutoff off of a two-save performance.
After such an explosive performance at home, the Marlins took the road and faced Emory and Henry away on Sept. 22. Signorelli and Wallace both earned a goal in this contest as well.
“The first game we started off really strong and that also led us to another 5-0 win in the second win, so going back-to-back like that definitely helps us to continue that momentum and keep going forward for the rest of the season,” Signorelli said.
The next three goals of the game came in the second half. Freshman Jaron Berry netted the third, followed by sophomore Allen Wilcox and then just a minute later came the final goal from junior Gabe Peredo.
Once again, Potter earned the shut-out and logged four saves on the game. This win over Emory and Henry earned the team their first Old Dominion Athletic Conference win of the season. They are now 2-0 in the conference with another win over Randolph by a score of 1-0.
In their back-to-back five goal performances, the men’s soccer team has proved that they have multiple options for scoring as seven different players accounted for a goal.
The Marlins travel to Ferrum College on Oct. 12 for their next game of the season.
Megan Sherman
mrsherman@vwu.edu
