FULTON, Mo.— The William Woods University men's soccer team will have the opportunity to showcase its talents on Thursday night in front of the WWU fan base, as the Owls will play its home opener against Ottawa University at Firley Field. Kick-off will start at 7 p.m.
The Owls (2-0-1), are coming off an impressive 3-0 victory over Culver-Stockton College on Tuesday, as the team got on the board early, getting a goal from sophomore
Anthony Moscatello at the 11:20 mark, giving WWU the 1-0 lead.
Shortly after, junior
Alex Severino extended the Owls lead to two, after scoring his second goal on the season, at the 13:37 minute mark. The offense continued to roll in the first half, as
Jesse Jordan scored his first goal on the year, off an assist from
Paulo Conelian, to extend the WWU advantage to 3-0 lead.
Despite the effort by the Wildcats in the second half, the Owls defense and freshman goaltender
Conor Cable kept the shutout intact, as the Owls went on for the three goal win.
Cable, a Spalding, England, native, recorded his first career shutout and win as a member of WWU, as he tallied six saves in the game.
On the season, the Owls have scored 10 goals on the year, while only surrendering one, which came against Avila University. Senior
Jacob Hawes has paced the offense this year, totaling three goals, one assist and a team-high nine shots.
Severino and Moscatello, meanwhile, are second on the team in goals (two) and have combined for 12 shots on the season. Also finding the back of the net this year, include Jordan,
Alan Matthew and
Daniel Paez.
In net, Cable has allowed just one goal, made seven saves in 245:00 minutes of play and holds a save percentage of .875.
This will be the first meeting since 2012 between the Owls and the Braves, as despite being outshot 15-4 in the outing, Ottawa come away with a 1-0 victory.
After finishing 2013 with a 5-10-4 overall record (3-2-4 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference), the Braves have had its early struggles in 2014, as they are 0-2 on the year and have been outscored 11-0 in the process.
The team did lose leading scorer Zack Hanks from last year, but does return Kyler Grimes, who was second on the team last season in goals (four), while also ranking third in points (eight) and shots (39).
"We are back to playing them and I am excited," said head coach
Nathan Mason. "They are a top team in the KCAC, but I know our team is excited to have the home opener and we will be ready to compete."
He added, "They had positive results in the KCAC and in non-conference play last season during the mid-to-late part of the year in 2013. I think Ottawa will build off that and be ready, so I hope our fans come out to support us and help get us a win."
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com tomorrow night for a full recap and score from Firley Field.
