ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's soccer team had no problem with visiting Manchester University coming up with a 5-0 victory. Five different members of the team tallied goals in the match.
The Thunder dominated the match from the beginning. They fired their first shot on goal in sixth minute, followed by another in the tenth. Then in the 11th minute of play, freshman Evan Komrska brought the ball into the penalty area before dropping it off to classmate Liam Zimmerman who fired a shot on goal. The keeper turned it aside but the rebound went back to Komrska who converted his shot for the goal.
The 1-0 score held for just over 20 minutes of game time, when the Thunder received a free kick just outside the penalty area. Juniors Francesco Mazzei and Tyler Murphy both lined up to threaten taking the kick, but Mazzei ended up being the one to connect, putting the ball over the keeper and into the top half of the net.
The 2-0 lead would last into the intermission. Trine outshot the Spartans 11-1 in the half with seven of their shots coming on goal.
Just under two minutes into the second half, a Thunder attack opportunity was cut short by a penalty on the Spartans, resulting in a red card for the visiting team. Murphy quickly converted the ensuing penalty kick, putting the ball into the bottom right corner of the net and giving the team a 3-0 lead.
Having already controlled the contest, Trine completely took over with the man advantage. Junior Joey Donovan scored the team's fourth goal in the 50th minute of play and freshman Jay Stevens put in the fifth for the team in the 73rd minute. The team cruised through the final minutes to finish with the 5-0 win.
Trine finished the game with 25 shots including 14 on goal compared to just two shots by Manchester.
The team improves to 5-1 following the victory. They will continue their season when they travel to face DePauw University on Tuesday, Sept. 20. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.