MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The UW-River Falls men's soccer team earned its first win of the season in commanding fashion Saturday afternoon, defeating North Central University 6-0 at Parade Park.
The Falcons now improve to 1-0-1 on the season behind a dominant offensive performance, scoring five times in the first half.
Sorel Richardson and freshman
Hunter Berry led the attack with two goals apiece, while
Ben Harris and
Victor Vancauteren also found the back of the net during regulation. UWRF finished the match with a 28-9 advantage in shots, with a 14-5 edge in shots on goal.
After nearly 30 scoreless minutes, the Falcons broke through when Harris converted a penalty kick to give UWRF a 1-0 advantage.
The Falcons built on the lead, as Vancauteren scored just over three minutes later to double the advantage. Richardson followed at 34:47 off an assist from
Gabriel Abad Lobo. Berry joined the scoring at 37:16, finishing off an assist from Harris for the freshman's first goal of the afternoon. Richardson then added his second goal of the match at 43:08, with
Sean Church providing the assist, sending the Falcons into halftime with a 5-0 lead.
UWRF wasted little time adding to its advantage after the break. Berry converted a penalty kick at 46:47, his second goal of the match and the Falcons' sixth of the afternoon.
The Falcons continued to generate opportunities throughout the second half and finished with 13 shots after halftime. Vancauteren led UWRF with six shots, while Berry added five and Richardson recorded four.
Defensively, the Falcons kept the Rams off the scoreboard for the full 90 minutes.
Greyson Shiek started in net and made three saves through 63:05 of action before
Jaime Mata closed out the shutout with two saves. North Central was limited to nine total shots.
The Falcons return to home grass on Wednesday, Sept. 9, hosting Carleton College at 4 p.m.
