FULTON, Mo. - (RV)/No. 1 seed William Woods University (11-2-6, 6-0-2 American Midwest Conference) carried its AMC shutout streak into the postseason in a resounding way, winning 7-0 over No. 8 seed University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy in St. Louis (1-15, 1-7) - the Owls' ninth straight shutout against AMC opposition - in the AMC Tournament quarterfinals Wednesday at North Campus Athletic Complex.

"Overall pleased with our execution of our game plan," William Woods men's soccer coach Tommy Nienhaus said. "Our attacking scored a bunch and were able to get every field player on today."

WWU not only shut out the Eutectics, but it also shut them down in the first half, outshooting UHSP 14 (eight on goal) to zero.

Second-team All-AMC forward David Fink knew where to be and where to find his teammates, assisting the Owls' first two goals. First-team All-AMC forward Miles Andrews took a pass from the Heidelberg, Germany native, and slotted his shot into the back of the net in the third minute to open the scoring. Seventeen minutes later, Fink found second-team All-AMC midfielder Charlie Williams, placing his shot past the Eutetics goalkeeper to double WWU's lead to 2-0.

Benjamin Lachaize, who scored a goal against UHSP in the regular season meeting 11 days ago, netted two goals 1:13 apart to earn a first-half brace. The French Owl got his first goal with 1:15 left in the first half and his second with just two seconds before halftime.

Keeping its foot on the pedal, William Woods outshot UHSP 13 (five on goal) to four (none on goal) in the second half. 

First-team All-AMC defender Pedro Salmon, WWU's assist leader, headed into the match with six assists. On Wednesday, he posted his seventh helper on the season, providing Andrews' goal, which made him the second Owl with a brace in the 53rd minute. 

Eight minutes after that, Chilean magician Nico Martinez Labra played a pass into the man that secured William Woods' AMC regular season title, TJ Mathias, and he capitalized on it and placed his shot into the goal 61:13 into the contest. Just 45 seconds later, the Owls' leading goal scorer, Fink, finished off his two-goal performance and the game's scoring with his 10th goal this season.

In a dominant display overall, William Woods recorded 23 more shots than UHSP (27-4) and had all 13 of the contest's shots on goal. Owls goalkeeper Wil Rieves (2-1-1) notched his second straight shutout, and it didn't include a save, unlike his previous six-save showing in a 0-0 draw with Missouri Baptist University on Oct. 29 in Fulton.

WWU's quest to AMC Tournament championship glory doesn't get any easier from here, and the next team on its path to the trophy is none other than local rival, No. 23/No. 4 seed Columbia College (11-3-4, 5-1-2 AMC) at 7 p.m. Saturday at NCAC. In the regular season meeting between the teams, the Owls and Cougars drew 0-0 Oct. 16 in Columbia, and WWU got that draw despite being outshot 21 (eight on goal) to five (three on goal).
Read Full Article