BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Moravian College men's soccer team gave new meaning to scoring early and often in a 13-0 defeat of Valley Forge Christian College on Wednesday afternoon on the HUB Quad.
The Greyhounds (7-5-2) tied the school record for goals in a game with 13. The last time that feat was accomplished was Nov. 2, 1991 in a 13-0 victory over Lebanon Valley College. The last time Moravian saw double-figures in goal scoring was a 10-1 defeat of Lebanon Valley on Oct. 31, 1992.
Eight different Greyhounds recorded a goal in the win, and 11 different players registered a point.
"Our game plan was to come out and put together a good performance," said head coach Todd Ervin. "We really wanted to work on some of the things we've been struggling with recently and the technical aspects we needed to improve on. I think we did that very well today."
Senior forward Jeffrey Algor extended his team and Landmark Conference-leading goal total to 11 with two goals in the contest. The senior striker opened the scoring in only the 2nd minute off a pass from junior midfielder Chris Gomez and added an unassisted tally in the 24th minute to stretch the Moravian lead to 7-0.
Junior defender Matt Guidon scored his first two goals of the season with well-placed headers off of corner kick plays. The first came in the 13th minute off a corner from freshman forward Saul Marcial to make it 4-0, and the second capped the Greyhound scoring in 90th minute off a corner from freshman midfielder Robert McKinley.
"Some of the goals were quite good, and that was nice to see," Ervin said. "We had time to deliver the ball, but we were able to finish our chances very well. It was good to see the guys put up that many numbers. It gave us the good dose of confidence that we needed."
Marcial also enjoyed a double-dip in the scoring department, tallying his fifth and sixth goals of the year. The freshman scored an unassisted goal in the 6th minute for the 3-0 lead, and executed a perfect give-and-go with Brett Harder for a score in the 16th to make it 5-0. Marcial and McKinley led the team with five points apiece in the victory.
McKinley was the fourth Greyhound to record two goals on Wednesday. He scored on a penalty kick in the 34th minute and on a header from a Ryan Darrell cross in the 76th for his first two tallies of the season. It was Darrell's first-career assist.
Sophomore Brett Harder also scored his first-career goal, finishing a short cross from Gomez in the 17th minute to the left side netting for the 6-0 lead.
Junior forward Shane McCaslin scored his second goal of the season unassisted in the 43rd to cap the 9-0 first half. McCaslin beat the last Patriot defender with a cut dribble and slotted the ball under the keeper.
Two more Greyhounds scored their first-career goals as freshman forward Travis Cifarelli and freshman defender Ryan Darrell joined the party in the second half. Cifarelli put away a one-time shot from freshman defender Ian Larimer's first-ever assist in the 48th minute. Darrell scored in the 89th when he cleaned up a shot taken by sophomore defender Andrew Arcell that was rebounded by the Valley Forge Christian goalkeeper. Arcell picked up his first-career assist on the play.
Sophomore goalkeeper Brian Boland made three saves to pick up his fourth shutout of the 2013 season.
Ervin commended a Patriots team that only had the minimum 11 players on Wednesday for exemplifying superb sportsmanship and passion in a situation where it would be easy to throw in the towel.
"I give them credit for fighting throughout the whole game and making sure that they left everything on the field," Ervin said of the Patriots. "They did that and all credit goes to them for doing that."
The Greyhounds hope to carry the momentum of a historic goal scoring contest into the final four matches of the season, all of which are against Landmark Conference opponents. Moravian hosts Juniata College on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 3:30 p.m. on the HUB Quad.
After trips to The Univeristy of Scranton on Oct. 22 and The United States Merchant Marine Academy on Oct. 26, the Greyhounds close out the 2013 regular season at home against Goucher College on Nov. 2.
