Men's Soccer

WildCats Use Three Second-Half Goals to Cruise in ODAC Opener

Box Score

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Randolph attempted the first 11 shots of the game and took a 1-0 lead into halftime, but a second half flurry put the game away, 4-0.

In the first half, Jacob Lusczek (Fredericksburg, Va./Chancellor) provided the lone goal on a feed from Corey Sindle (Gloucester, Va./Gloucester) exactly 20 minutes in.

For Lusczek, it marked the fourth straight game in which the senior earned a point for the WildCats (6-0-1, 1-0 ODAC).

Sindle has at least one point in all but one game this year and came into the contest tied for sixth in the nation, and top in the ODAC, in points per game (3.00).

At intermission, Randolph held a 12-3 edge over Guilford (4-3-1, 2-1 ODAC) in shots, with nine making it on net.

Jake Hood (New Market, Md./Linganore) doubled the lead early in the second half when he cleaned up his own rebound in front of the net, putting it home to make the lead 2-0.

Later, Troy Jurney (Camp Lejeune, N.C./White Oak) netted the first goal of his brief career off of a pass from Julian Khalili (Falmouth, Va./Stafford), which he headed over the keeper's hands.

John Adams (Lynchburg, Va./E.C. Glass) wrapped up scoring off the corner kick from senior classmate Nick Cornell (Front Royal, Va./Warren Co.), who has proven to be dangerous on set pieces this year.

Despite the overwhelming scoreline, team's offensive output still fell short of its average coming in, 4.33 goals per game, which was good for fifth in the nation entering the contest.

Senior goalkeeper Carter Smith (Greensboro, N.C./Grimsley) turned aside both shots that made it on his net, preserving his third shutout of the year and the fourth clean sheet for the defensive unit on the year.

After the game, head coach Bryan Waggoner said, "The result today was a nice start to our ODAC campaign. Guilford is well-coach with good quality in their team."

"With that said, we still have a lot to work on before we are the team we think we can become," he continued. "We learned last year to never be complacent and to try and make ourselves better every time we step on the field."

With the win, Randolph, a team receiving votes in two national polls, starts its ODAC season with a win while knocking the team previously occupying the No. 1 seed out of the ranks of the unbeaten in conference play.

The scene will be similar on Saturday when the WildCats will once again play a top-seeded team sitting at 2-0 in ODAC play. This time, the 'Cats will be the hosts, looking to knock current No. 1, Virginia Wesleyan, off its perch as part of a double-header at WildCat Stadium.

The game is scheduled for 4:30 following a women's contest against Emory & Henry and is part of Family Weekend.

Print Friendly Version