DANVILLE, Va. – The Shenandoah University men's soccer team picked up another ODAC conference win in a row, after defeating Averett University 5-3 on the road Saturday afternoon. The Hornets (8-5-1, 3-2-0) got goals from
Gabe Eckenrode,
Connor Robles,
Chinedu Ikem, and two goals from
Nathan Yared. Yared led the way for the Hornets with four shots, with three coming on frame, while Ikem was the other Hornet with multiple shots. The Cougars outshot the Hornets 15-10 as a team, with both teams managing seven shots each on goal. Shenandoah had the edge in corner kicks, 6-4.
Nathan Lynch started in goal for the Hornets and came up with four saves but surrendered three second-half goals, while he picked up his fourth win of the year.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a tale of two halves for the Hornets as they came out strong in the first 45 minutes of play. As both teams were settling into their offenses, the Hornets got the first chance at scoring. In the 7
th minute,
Kyle Welch fired a shot that sailed just above the frame before
Nathan Yared ripped a shot in the 9
th minute.
Chinedu Ikem followed those attempts up with his own shot in the 11
th minute that went just left of the net. Shenandoah held the Averett offense stagnant for the first 18 minutes of play before the Cougars finally got a shot off, but it was of no threat to the Lynch. The Hornets earned three straight corner kicks before finally connecting on the final attempt to take a 1-0 lead.
Nathan Yared started the play by serving the ball into the box, where
Gabe Eckenrode was there as he headed the ball past the keeper. Looking to tie the game back at one goal each, the Cougars earned a corner for themselves, which led to a shot, that was not on target. Off of the corner, the ball bounced to Ikem who sent a through ball up the right side to
Connor Robles, who dribbled and beat his defender before burying the shot in the upper 90 of the goal. Adding to their lead, Yared took the ball in the middle of the field, and passed to Robles on the right side, Robles took a touch and found Ikem wide open on the far post for the 3-0 lead. Shenandoah added one more goal in the 14 minute span before the half ended. After an Averett corner kick,
Leandro Sainz sent a long ball into the box, where
Nathan Yared headed the ball past the keeper making it 4-0 heading into the break.
After the break, the Hornets added a fifth goal, Yared's second of the game, off an assist from
Kyle Welch. The play started with Robles sending a ball through the box toward Welch, who did not have a great angle at the goal on the left side but sent the ball back in the middle, where Yared cleaned it up, making it 5-0. The Averett comeback started after that, as they held the Hornets without a shot for the rest of the game. The Cougars got their first goal in the 55
th minute, as Daniel Starr went down the middle of the field, took on two Hornet defenders, made a move to his right, and then took the shot toward the far post. A foul in the box led to a penalty shot, as the Hornet lead was only 5-2 in the 70
th minute. Gaining momentum, the Cougars started in their own zone before sending a long pass over the defense, Lynch came out to cut off the angle, but the Cougar player chipped the ball over his head, making it a two-goal game. Facing adversity, the Hornets played the final 15 minutes with only 10 players, after being issued a red card. The Cougars got three more shots off but were not able to score, and the Hornets hung on for the win.
UP NEXT
The Hornets return home on Wednesday evening, for a conference game with Washington and Lee. That game is scheduled to start at 7 pm.
#GoSUHornets
