BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Moravian College men's soccer team used a balanced attack and spotless defending to take a 5-0 victory from Bryn Athyn College on Tuesday afternoon on the HUB Quad.
Seven different Moravian players registered a point in the win, which moved the Greyhounds to 5-2-2 on the season, and the defense did not allow a single shot.
Senior forward Jeffrey Algor scored twice and added an assist, while junior midfielder Chris Gomez and sophomore midfielder David Tate each scored their first collegiate goals. Freshman forward Brendan Barca scored his third goal of the season.
"I certainly thought it was a well-earned victory," head coach Todd Ervin said. "We went out there and played to our strengths and were able to put five goals in the back of the net. That certainly helps, but more than that, I thought our guys were able to keep a high level of play. That shows that they're growing as a team and growing as individuals. I'm thrilled with the performance."
Algor started the offensive onslaught with a goal in the 31st minute, when he picked a cross out of the air from sophomore midfielder Shane Harder and buried a header into the side netting. It was Moravian's only goal of the first half, but the senior captain was not done yet. Algor assisted the Greyhounds next goal scored by Gomez, and added a second tally in the 84th minute.
"I was a center back last season, so I definitely missed chomping at the bit, going up top and putting some in the back of the net," said Algor, who scored his team-leading seventh and eighth goals of the year on Tuesday. "It was a team effort. Both of my goals came from beautiful balls that were played; it's not like it was me dribbling at everyone. It was thanks to Shane's cross and Nick Blake's through ball. It was a team effort, but I love scoring, so I can't complain."
Algor appreciated the crossing pass that led to his first goal so much, he decided to give one back to his teammates. In the 51st minute, his cross found the head of a streaking Gomez, who knocked it in for his first ever goal at Moravian.
Moravian stretched its lead to 3-0 in the 68th minute when freshman forward Saul Marcial placed a pass into a dangerous area. The ball took a quick deflection and fell to the feet of Barca, who promptly laced the ball past the Bryn Athyn keeper.
Algor's second goal of the game was on a breakaway after a perfect pass from sophomore midfielder Nicholas Blake threaded the needle and left Algor with only the keeper to beat, which he did with precision.
Seconds after the Greyhounds took a 4-0 lead, the Lions were called for a handball in the box. Tate stepped up to the spot and ripped a shot down the middle for his first career goal and the 5-0 Moravian lead.
Freshman goalkeeper Jimmy Amorebella recorded his first clean sheet and first victory in net for the Greyhounds, and was not forced to make a save thanks to some stingy defending. The freshman helped direct his defense as they did not allow a single shot to be taken on Tuesday.
Ervin was pleased to spread the waning minutes of the second half across the Moravian bench, full of players eager and willing to get on the pitch. Junior Matt Guidon, freshman Ryan Darrell, sophomore Austin van-Spanje and sophomore Lee Rabin all saw well-earned time in the second half.
"These kids have been working their butts off trying to get that playing time," Algor said. "They earned it today. They did a great job, too."
"You always want those guys to get time, because you never know when you're going to need them," Ervin added. "If someone goes down, we're going to want someone going in that has that experience. With today's game, we were able to get everybody in and saw some things that will make me more confident in putting some of those guys in a game."
The Greyhounds, now unbeaten in their last four contests, are in a great position heading into their first Landmark Conference match this weekend. Moravian travels to Susquehanna University on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and the club is certainly feeling the momentum heading into a slate of ultra-important conference games.
"It's giving us a lot of confidence, and we need that," Algor said. "We've been building it up this year. We're 5-2-2 and we only had five wins all of last season. This program has totally turned around. We're all looking forward to Susquehanna and conference play on Saturday. They are defending a regular season title, so that's something we're going to try and change."
