WINCHESTER, Va – The Shenandoah men's soccer team got back in the win column after picking up a non-conference win with Rutgers-Newark Saturday evening in Winchester. Shenandoah (3-1-1) would overcome an early second-half goal by the Scarlet Raiders (1-4-2) to come from behind on and score two goals in five minutes.
BEHIND THE NUMBERS
Even though Rutgers-Newark would outshoot the Hornets 14-6 and have seven shots on goal to the Hornets two shots on goal, the Hornets would make the most of those two shots on goal and capitalize on both with
Kyle Welch's first two goals of the season.
Chinedu Ikem and
Kyle Welch each had two shots in the contest, while
Niclas Vavra and
Jasson Acosta each would add a shot.
Travis Jett made six saves in the game to pick up his third win of the season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a scoreless 90 minutes Wednesday evening with Stevenson, it was tough sledding in the first half as both defenses worked hard to keep the opposing attacks off the board, even though both teams made good runs and had good chances to get on the board. However, the score would remain tied at 0 heading into the break.
In the second half, it was Rutgers-Newark that would strike first. Erick Cortes would slip past his defender and get a cheeky back heel pass from his teammate as he was making an overlapping run, and was able to beat goalie
Travis Jett to the near post to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. That lead was short-lived as
Kyle Welch would blast his first goal of the season in the 64
th minute. Five minutes later,
Jasson Acosta would get taken down in the box on a breakaway, earning a penalty shot. Welch, riding the high of his first goal of the season just minutes before, fooled the goalie and what was once a 1-0 Scarlett Raider lead, quickly turned into a 2-1 Hornet lead.
Rutgers-Newark would continue to press for the remaining 20 minutes, but the Hornet defense stood their ground and turned away any threat as Shenandoah would hang on for the 2-1 victory.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Shenandoah will open conference play on Wednesday afternoon as they will travel to Bridgewater for a matchup with the Eagles. Kickoff is slated for 4 pm.
#GoSUHornets
