MEADVILLE, Pa. – Persistence paid off for the Allegheny College men's soccer team this evening as it built off a dominant opening 45 minutes to score a 4-0 win over Thiel College at the inaugural North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) versus Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Challenge.
Allegheny (1-1-1, 0-0-0 NCAC) held a 14-0 edge over Thiel (1-1-1, 0-0-0 PAC) in shots after the first half, but had nothing to show for it. That changed in the final frame as the Gators needed just a 30-minute block to find the back of the net four times.
The Gators' best chance in the first half came in the 19th minute as the hosts had the Tomcat defense on its heels in the box. A bouncing ball eventually found the feet of freshman midfielder
Ryan Clydesdale, but his attempt was stopped at the line by a Thiel centerback.
Senior midfielder
Nick Dias began the rout in the 49th minute after Allegheny won a corner kick. Junior forward
Bryce Evans' cross was deflected by a Tomcat, but Dias was waiting and slotted it just inside the left post for the third goal of his career.
The hosts doubled their lead eight minutes later with some superb teamwork from a couple of new Gators. Freshman forward
Eddie Opalko would win the ball around midfield and carry it about 10 yards before letting loose a low feed towards the box. Sophomore forward
Ian Chick was there after splitting two defenders, and demonstrated a soft first touch before finishing it off inside the right stick.
Allegheny only needed five more minutes to make it 3-0 as 2015 leading scorer
Aaron Donahoe made the scoresheet. Dias' corner kick didn't produce a scoring attempt, but the ball returned to the senior near the left sideline. He then ripped a low, bending cross across the box, placing it perfectly on the foot of Donahoe on the right post.
In the 78th minute, Thiel's Tyler Feciuch brought down senior midfielder
Zach Stryker just a millisecond after a through ball caught the fourth-year's feet. Stryker was given the chance to finish what he created, and did so with low shot to the left of the diving goalkeeper.
After making a career-high 16 saves in the Gators' previous contest, junior goalkeeper
David Stekla didn't see nearly as much action, needing to make just one save over the course of 90 minutes to register his first shutout.
Evans and Stryker led Allegheny with four shot attempts each, while Donahoe and sophomore forward
Jon Sion tallied three apiece. The Gators finished with a 25-4 difference in shots and a 15-3 gap in corner kicks.
Allegheny is back in action on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 7:00 p.m. against a Grove City team that defeated Hiram, 3-2, in the first game of the NCAC vs. PAC Challenge.
