Despite a brief weather delay just before kickoff, the Charger Men's Soccer team improved to 2-1 on the season with a rather comfortable 7-0 outing Friday evening against nearby Fairhaven Baptist College from Chesterton, Indiana. This matchup served as the first of a home-and-home series, with the Chargers returning the favor by traveling to Chesterton on October 4th.
MUAC scored their first goal in the 14th minute of the contest, as Freshman Matt Polk Jr. took a pass from classmate Yeffreys Quintanilla and buried his shot in the back of the net. Not much later, it was the Sophomore connection of Exode Minga to Santiago Morales to the back of the net in the 25th minute, and the Chargers were able to make several substitutions and see 21 total players find quality playing, including being able to rest Redshirt Freshman goalkeeper Trent Platz shortly after the second goal.
The Chargers controlled tempo, keeping the ball in the offensive end of the field for about 43 of the 45 first half minutes. That included a third goal just before halftime, as Freshman Jonathan Monjaraz scored an unassisted tally early in the 40th minute of the first stanza.
The second half saw a similar start as the first, with Marian Ancilla again dominating time of possession. They scored goals in the 51st minute (Aidan Moench), the 62nd minute (Daniel Akinyose), the 69th minute (Anthony Hughes), and the 71st minute (Isaiah Moore), contributing to the 7-0 final score. However, while Platz and backup goalkeeper Tolulope Oluwafemi didn't have to face much danger in the first half, Fairhaven Baptist spent about seven second half minutes on their offensive half, especially late, with Oluwafemi needing to ward off five attempts at goal.
Charger Head Coach Kirk Weiss seemed please with the totality of the evening, stating, "this was a good team win which saw seven different guys scoring goals. Three of them were Freshmen scoring their first collegiate goals. We were able to find our bench several minutes that will help us as conference play starts next weekend. It was also fun to see our starters as excited as they were when our bench guys scored." With the Labor Day holiday ahead, Coach Weiss added, "we will take a couple days off before we get back at it in preparation for a rematch with Bethel's JV team Wednesday."
Speaking of which, the Chargers are back in action Wednesday, as they host the Bethel University (IN) Junior Varsity team in a rematch from just over a week ago that favored MUAC, 5-1. The opening kick is set for 6:00 p.m., so please come out and support these young men, if you are able!! Good luck Chargers!!