McPHERSON, Kan. -- One day after suffering its first setback of the 2016 season, the John Brown University men's soccer team rattled off 17 shots and posted its most lopsided win since Sept. 5 of last year, blasting Northwestern (Iowa) by a 5-0 final in the last match of the Red Card Cancer Classic on Saturday.
Powered by two goals and an assist from junior Collin Smith, his first tallies of the season, the Golden Eagles (4-1-1) posted a three-spot in the first half before tacking on another pair in the final half of play. Junior keeper Adam Holt didn't need to make a save to earn his third shutout of the season.
"I was really pleased with the way we bounced back today," said JBU head coach Scott Marksberry. "We have essentially played three games in three days, which is very difficult at this level. Our boys showed a lot of resolve today to come out sharp and put away five goals. The state of the game for us today was only allowing two shots and none on frame after a tough showing yesterday on set pieces. I am proud of the way our guys stuck to our style of play throughout the weekend.
"If you take away the three set pieces from the Bellevue games (Friday, which led to all three Bruin goals), then we did a great job playing to our standard. We will learn, grow and keep working towards our standards."
Sophomore Kelvin Omondi kicked off the scoring in the 11th minute when he finished a well-placed pass from sophomore Ryan Williams just outside the 18-yard box. Omondi slotted the shot near post, giving John Brown a quick 1-0 advantage.
It didn't take long for the Golden Eagles to double its lead, just 122 seconds, as Smith buried a shot far post past NWC keeper Mike Wick. Junior Steve Teshima fired a cross into the box that Williams allowed to shuffle past him, employing a bit of misdirection, straight to the feet of Smith for a 2-0 lead.
Sophomore Ashby Clark added his first goal of the season in the 31st minute after a flurry of JBU pressure resulted in one of six corner kicks on the afternoon. Despite a Red Raider defender winning the volley, Smith landed his third point of the afternoon by one-touching a shot off the attempted clear, which finished at Clark's feet. Clark turned and buried a 10-yard strike as the Golden Eagles began to run away with the match.
An 11-1 shooting advantage fueled JBU in the first half and again a lopsided affair turned into another two tallies in the second half. The 62nd minute of play saw sophomore Conner Haney drive past a defender and into the box. The ball popped out to Smith, waiting 15 yards out, and the five-point scorer buried a one-touch blast from the left side of the box.
Haney found the scoresheet in the second half by adding his 10th and 11th points of the season with just over five minutes to play. The Golden Eagles played the ball into the middle where freshman Amilcar Gonzalez completed the field switch to Haney bursting up the left flank. Played perfectly into his path, Haney smashed a strike past Wick to conclude JBU's goal-scoring party on the afternoon.
Wick, in the loss, made four saves on nine shots on goal. The Red Raiders dropped to 2-5 on the season.
Smith led five players with at least two shots with five shots in the victory.
The Golden Eagles will return to action on Wednesday when they host No. 6 Oklahoma Wesleyan at Alumni Field at 7 p.m.
Sports on 09/14/2016