WINCHESTER, Va – The Shenandoah University men's soccer team got back on the winning side and also picked up their first conference win of the season with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Ferrum Saturday afternoon. The Hornets (4-3-2, 1-1-1) used two goals from
Chinedu Ikem, and a goal apiece from
Kyle Welch and
Logan Whited to hang on for the conference win against the Panthers (2-7-0, 0-4-0.)
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Shenandoah had the advantage in shots 18 to seven and shots on goal nine to five.
The Hornets also had the edge on corner kicks, with 10 opportunities compared to the Panthers five.
Travis Jett made two saves on the afternoon in the win.
Three players on the Hornets had three shots, with all of
Kyle Welch's shots coming on frame.
Chinendu Ikem had his second brace of the season.
Kyle Welch picked up a goal and the assist on the game-winning goal from
Logan Whited.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Ferrum quickly jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a goal in the 4
th minute by Jonathan Nicacio, but that lead would be short-lived as the Hornets would answer back just over five minutes later on a goal from
Chinedu Ikem. The scoring and the action did not stop there, in 13
th minute
Connor Robles would play a ball to Ikem, and Ikem would beat the Ferrum keeper to put the Hornets up 2-1 early in the first half. Shenandoah would continue to apply pressure in the half, as the Hornets kept firing shots on frame, forcing Dillion Ghosh to keep the deficit to one.
Kyle Welch would give the Hornets a two-goal lead in the 25
th minute on a ball he received from
Nathan Yared. In the 33
rd minute,
Logan Whited would give the Hornets an insurance goal and Shenandoah would take a 4-1 lead into the break.
In the second half, Ferrum would take advantage of a foul on Shenandoah with a free kick just outside the box. Leo Galpin would put a ball in the upper 90 just out the reach of Jett to cut the lead to 4-2. With momentum on their side, it was Ferrum's turn to apply pressure to the Hornets, and the Panthers were not going away easily. In the 79
th minute, the lead would be cut to one, on Jonathan Nicaacio's second goal of the game. The back line of the Hornets was able to weather the storm and stop the bleeding, and the game would end 4-3 in favor of the host Hornets.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Shenandoah will head south to Lynchburg for a conference matchup with the other Hornets on Wednesday evening, with kick-off slated for 7 p.m.
#GoSUHornets
