Box Score For immediate release – 10/15/2016 - #088
Big First Half Propels WildCats to 4-0 Win
EMORY, VA – The Randolph College men's soccer team scored four goals in the first half on the way to defeating Emory & Henry College 4-0 in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) play on Saturday. It is the ninth-straight victory for the WildCats over the Wasps.
Despite the fact that the hosts had the top offense in the ODAC going into the game, it was the WildCats who were more aggressive on offense. Adam Watson forced a defender to clear a shot off the line after a Blake Heatherly corner, and soon after Anthony Quinn rung the crossbar.
The attack paid off as a Wasp fouled a WildCat in the box in the 18th minute. Heatherly stepped up and converted his fifth career PK. While E&H would get more aggressive, forcing Erick Cortez-Martinez to stop two shots, it was all about Randolph.
Emory & Henry committed a foul near the left corner, with Heatherly taking it once again. He sent the free kick into the back of the net, to complete his brace. Two more shots over the next four minutes forced Didier Grillet into saves, but the lead would grow soon after, with it coming off of another free kick.
Heatherly sent his service into the box, and it found Kyle Unruh. Unruh wasted no time in sending it into the back of the net for the 3-0 lead. Then in the 41st minute, Joe Uzdavinis made it 4-0, after firing the ball into the upper 90. It was his first goal since the 2014 season, after he missed all of last year.
Randolph earned the first attempt of the second half, as Gabe Krueger's shot was saved, but the Wasps attempted to change the momentum soon after. E&H had three-straight shots, as one hit the crossbar and Cortez-Martinez saved another one.
But the 'Cats turned it around and had several good opportunities. Cristian Irigoyen and Unruh both had attempts, but could not convert. Then Heatherly had another penalty attempt, but Grillet made a difficult save. The final minutes would see a couple of chances for both teams, but neither team would find the back of the net.
Cortez-Martinez made eight saves on the way to his fourth shutout of the season. The 'Cats outshot their opponents 21-14, with 13 on goal. Grillet stopped nine shots for Emory & Henry (8-5-1 overall, 1-3-1 ODAC).
Randolph (7-3-3, 2-1-2) returns home for the Hill City Derby on Tuesday. The WildCats welcome Lynchburg College (9-1-2, 3-0) for an important 7 p.m. ODAC contest.
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