WINCHESTER, Va. – The Shenandoah men's soccer team was back on the pitch Saturday afternoon with an important conference matchup with the Averett Cougars. The Hornets (7-4-3, 4-2-2) defeated the Cougars (5-5-7, 2-3-4) 3-1 behind two goals from
Aaron Alexander on senior day.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Each team had 12 shots for the game with the Hornets having a slight edge with six shots on goal.
Dylan Johnson started for the Hornets in net, but the senior did not face any shots.
Travis Jett came in and made four saves while picking up the win.
Aaron Alexander had a brace on the afternoon, with his second goal coming as the clock was ticking down under 10 seconds in the second half.
Connor Robles scored his first goal of the season and was credited with the game-winning goal.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In front of a large crowd on GloFiber Field, the Hornets started the afternoon by celebrating the careers of the 11 graduating seniors. The senior-filled lineup put pressure on the Cougars, but as Coach Kates went to his bench to put the normal rotation, the Hornets wasted little time getting on the scoreboard.
Aaron Alexander would steal the ball deep in the Cougar defensive third, and bury a ball in the back of the net to put the Hornets up 1-0 in the 15
th minute.
Alexander had two fantastic chances to get his second goal of the game early in the first half when
Connor Robles passed a ball across the goal mouth, Alexander blasted a shot, that the Cougar goalie made an acrobatic save, but the ball found the foot of Alexander again and the Cougar defender headed the ball the away with his goalie on the ground in the 17
th minute.
In the 21
st minute, the Cougars had their best opportunity to pull the game level as a ball would get served into the box past Jett, hit off the post, and roll across the goal line. Jett was able to recover and gather the ball before it completely crossed the line.
In the 37
th minute,
Tarick Kamara would dribble through the midfield and find a streaking
Connor Robles down the left side, Robles would take the ball and go far post slotting the ball past the outstretched arms of the goalie to put the Hornets up 2-0 in the first. Averett finally scored in the 44
th minute after a ball bounced around the box and found the back of the net. The Hornets would take a 2-1 lead into the break.
Feeling the pressure from the Cougars pressing for the second half, the Hornet back line and midfield did a great job holding the lead. The Hornets could sigh a breath of relief, with the clock ticking down, Alexander would find the back of the net for the second time and secure the 3-1 victory.
UP NEXT
The Hornets will travel to Ashland for the final regular season matchup Wednesday evening. Shenandoah will square off with Randolph-Macon to determine ODAC playoff seeding.
#GoSUHornets
