BATESVILLE, Ark.—The William Woods University men's soccer team will look to extend its winning streak to five games, as the Owls pay a visit to Lyon College on Saturday afternoon. Kick-off is set for 2 p.m.
The Owls (5-0-1), are coming off another impressive performance against Central Methodist University on Wednesday night, as the Owls scored two goals in the first 10:00 minutes of play and held on for the two goal win.
The scoring got started for WWU in the eighth minute, as a
Brett Hodges cross found the head of
Alex Severino, who buried his fourth goal on the season, giving WWU an early 1-0 advantage. Just two minutes later, senior
Paulo Conelian, who leads the team in assists (six), scored his first goal on the 2014 season off a free kick from 23 yards out, to give the Owls a 2-0 lead heading into halftime.
In the second half, senior
Sebastian Burich found the back of the net for the first time this season in the 77
th minute, extending the Owls lead to 3-0.
As the clock continued to tick down, the Owls, who hadn't allowed a goal in 271:12 minutes of play entering the game, were looking for its fourth straight shutout.
The Eagles, however, played spoiler in the 86
th minute, as Tyler Neis scored his fourth goal on the year, beating goaltender
Conor Cable, who was recently named American Midwest Conference (AMC) and NAIA National Defensive Player of the Week. The goal unfortunately ended the shutout streak at an impressive 357:58 minutes for Cable and the Owls.
WWU was still able to hold onto its two goal lead the final three minutes of play and extend its winning streak to four.
During the last four games, the Owls have outscored its opponents 12-1 and hold a shot advantage of 71-57. Severino leads the team with three goals the last four games, while
Drew Olson has added two and seven other Owls have scored one.
In net, Cable has allowed just one goal in 336:30 minutes of play, made 22 saves, has a save percentage of .957 and a goals against average of a mere 0.267.
Last year at Firley Field, the Owls flew past Lyon College (2-2-1), as they scored seven goals on 16 shots and went on for the shutout win.
Coming off a 6-9-4 overall record in 2013 and going 3-4-3 in the American Midwest Conference (AMC), the Scots are off to a 2-2-1 start in 2014.
After winning its season opener against Central Baptist (3-1), Lyon fell to No. 16-ranked Georgia Gwinnett (1-0), tied Milligan (3-3) and dropped another tough game against No. 22-ranked Bethel College (4-3).
Its last time out, however, Lyon moved back to the .500 mark on the season, as they picked up a 3-2 victory over Delta State University.
On the season, the Scots are led by Abdullah Adam, who has already surpassed his goal total from last season, scoring six in five games and also leads the team in shots (21). Jack Hayes is second on the team, totaling two goals, while four other Scots have added one goal.
In net, the duo of Gurjinder Brar and Rob Brown have combined for 470:00 minutes of play, allowed 11 goals, made 27 saves and hold a goals against average of 2.20.
"Lyon has always been a top team in the AMC standings," said head coach
Nathan Mason. "Being senior day at last years' game, we fought hard against them and scored nearly every chance we had. It won't be like that this year, however, as I expect Lyon to want some payback on its home field."
He added, "Lyon has been scoring a ton of goals this year against solid teams', as they have lost two close games against top 25 teams. I expect them to be very good on the attack, so we will need to defend well and track back on the counter. They will try to stretch us on their wide field, so I expect it to be a very close game."
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com on Saturday evening for a full recap and score from Arkansas.
