FULTON, Mo. - The William Woods University men's soccer team collected its first shut out of the year, as the Owls defeated Bethany College 5-0 in dominating fashion, to get back to the .500 mark on the season.
The Owls (3-3-1; 0-1-1 AMC), came out of the gate strong and never let down, as the team broke the scoreless game in just the ninth minute with its first shot of the game, as freshman
Rhys Wallace crossed a ball inside the goal box and connected with
Rodrigo Alves who headed the ball in to give WWU an early 1-0 lead.
Within minutes after the Owls first goal, Bethany College tried to put the equalizing point on the board, as Travor Kistler and Angelo Alessi fired shots but
Conor Cable came up with two big saves to keep the Swedes quiet.
Then at the 40:43 mark,
Brett Hodges placed a perfectly kicked ball from the corner, as
Lendell Louis-Jacques came through with the finish, heading the ball past the Swedes goalie, Jose Sanchez, making it 2-0 in the Owls favor.
The Owls had one last chance to add to its advantage with the clock running down in the first frame, but were unsuccessful and went into half time with the 2-0 lead over BC. WWU outshot the Swedes 11-6 in first 45:00 minutes of play.
It was more of a dominating performance from the Owls in the second half, as the teams' leading scorer
Alex Severino got into the action, finding the back of the net in the first six minutes of the second frame, extending WWU advantage to 3-0.
As the game went on, it got a little more physical and both teams continued to battle. At the 75:34 mark, the Owls were awarded a penalty kick and
Brett Hodges stepped up and buried his first goal of the year, pushing WWU lead up to 4-0.
Then less than five minutes later, at the 81:46 mark, William Woods earned yet another penalty kick, which this time
Brett Hodges shot hit the left post but Alves was there for the put back, to give the the Owls its fifth goal of the day. WWU defense and Cable stayed strong as the second half came to an end to keep the shutout intact, while going on to secure the 5-0 victory.
William Woods outshot the Swedes 22-15, while Cable recorded four saves in the 90:00 minutes of play.
Alves, had an impressive outing for the Owls, as the Compinas, Brazil native, recorded a career-high two goals on the day, along with four shots. Hodges was another Owl to have a stellar day, as the junior handed out a team-high two assists, while collecting one goal and four shots.
Rhys Wallace also posted four shots, while recording his first collegiate assist.
The Owls next game is on Tuesday September 22nd, as the team gets back to its American Midwest Conference part of its schedule with a match-up at St. Louis College of Pharmacy. The kick-off is set for 9:00 p.m.
Fans stay updated on
wwuowls.com for a full preview of Tuesday's game for WWU
