WINCHESTER, Va. – The Shenandoah University men's soccer team stopped the bleeding and picked up a massive conference win with a 3-0 shutout over Randolph-Macon Wednesday night at Shentel Stadium. The Hornets (7-5-1, 2-2-0) got an early goal from
Leandro Sainz in the 13
th minute before getting two goals from
Chinedu Ikem to seal the 3-0 victory. The Hornets dominated possession for the entire game as they outshot the Yellow Jackets 13-4, with nine Hornet shots ending up on frame. Ikem led the Hornets with five shots, while
Niclas Vavra and
Nathan Yared each had multiple shots for Shenandoah.
Nathan Lynch started for the second game in a row, came away with a clean sheet, and did not have to make any saves.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hornets started quickly as
Chinedu Ikem had a clean look at the goal, but his shot sailed high and wide. As the ball bounced around the midfield,
Nathan Yared got stopped in consecutive shots from point-blank range, but neither shot found the back of the net. Ikem then had another look in the 10
th minute, but this time his shot was saved by the keeper. The Hornets took a 1-0 lead in the 13
th minute,
Kyle Welch had the ball wide, outside the box, and flicked the ball into the box. The Macon defender attempted to head the ball away, but it found the foot of
Leandro Sainz. Sainz settled the ball, made his defender miss, and then sent a ball to the opposite upper corner. The goal was Sainz's first of the year. Ikem then continued the pressure and fired a low shot, that the keeper pushed away, which started the parade of corner kicks for the Hornets. Shots from Vavra and
Aidan Browne each were saved keeping the score 1-0. The Hornets extended their lead in the 22
nd minute after Sainz and Vavra played give-and-go with each other, the ball went off the Macon defender. Sainz threw the ball in, it bounced over the defender to Ikem, who turned and fired a right-footed shot to the upper 90.
Chris Chaplin got the only other shot for the Hornets, while Shenandoah only gave up one shot in the half.
Looking for more goals in the second,
Connor Robles and Vavra each fired shots early in the second half. In the 53
rd minute, Ikem found the back of the net for the second time. This time, Robles started with the ball out wide. He found Browne in the middle of the pitch, who crossed the ball into Ikem. Ikem, with two defenders draped on him, passed to Welch, and as Welch was falling down, passed back to Ikem, who took one touch and blasted the ball past the keeper to make it 3-0. The game then got chippy as five yellow cards were issued throughout the rest of the game. The Hornets did not manage any more shots in the game, while the Yellow Jackets only had three shots, none of which were of any threat.
UP NEXT
The Hornets hit the road again on Saturday for a conference game with Averett on Saturday. That game will start at 2 pm.
#GoSUHornets
