Press Release written by Nathan Foltz
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NEWARK, Del. - - The 21st ranked Wilmington University men's soccer team used a second half explosion to defeat Georgian Court on Wednesday, winning 4-0 in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference matchup at the WU Athletics Complex.
The win moves the Wildcats to 7-1-4 on the year with a 2-1-3 record in conference, while the Lions slide to 3-5-3 overall and 2-3-0 in the CACC.
The first half saw a number of shots from both squads, but none made it into the net. Wilmington took 11 with five on goal, while Georgian Court took eight and put three on goal. Each goalkeeper was tested, but each came up with big saves to keep the game scoreless.
The drought was quickly broken once the second half started, though, with the Wildcats scoring the only goal they would end up needing 33 seconds into half number two. Theo Faillon quickly bounced a ball towards the goal from the top of the box, but a defender kicked it off the left post to save the drawn out keeper. The ball was still in danger, however, and Michiharu Takanashi was right there to pass a ball a few feet to Isaak Simic, who drove it into the goal off a Lion trying to cover the net for his first collegiate goal.
Wilmington was still looking for insurance, however, and they got some starting in the 69th minute. Theo Faillon took a ball from Shuntaro Morimoto at the top of the box, danced around the goalkeeper, then drove it home for his ninth goal of the season. Not even a minute and a half later in the 71st minute, Michiharu Takanashi got on the scorecard again, this time with an unassisted goal off a left-footed shot from the left side of the box.
The final tally of the game came in the 78th minute, thanks to Jhamaleek Porter. Alex Tarway took the ball up the right side and fed it inside to Simic, whose shot was batted away by the keeper. Just like Wilmington's first goal, though, there was a Wildcat waiting to pounce on a deflection, and this time it was Porter to put it between the keeper's legs and in for his third goal of the year.
Emil Lollike pitched the shutout for Wilmington, his fourth of the year, making three saves. He's now tied for the conference lead in goalkeeper shutouts with today's performance, while ranking third in save percentage at .817.
Wilmington led in corners 4-3, as well as shots 20-12 (12-3 SOG). Six Wildcats took multiple shots in the match.
The Wildcats hit the road for their next two contests, starting with a conference matchup at Caldwell on Saturday. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 in New Jersey.
