CLAREMORE, Okla. – The Rogers State men's soccer team got back on track with a dominating 5-0 victory over Eastern New Mexico on Saturday (Oct. 7) at Soldier Field. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Hillcats as RSU moved to 6-5-1 on the season and 3-4-1 in the Heartland Conference.
The five goals are the most by the Hillcats since Sept. 8, 2016 when RSU scored six in a 6-1 victory over Southwest Baptist in Claremore.
Abe Young tallied the game-winning goal, his first of the season, in the 26th minute of the contest.
Declan Fitzpatrick played in a ball from near the left end line that Young knocked in for the goal in front for an early 1-0 advantage. The Cats held the 1-0 edge after the first 45 minutes. In the first period, RSU was in complete control of the game, holding a 14-2 edge in shots.
The Hillcats poured on the goals in the second half, including four goals in the final 12 minutes of the contest. The second-half outburst started with a goal from
Jaxon Pitt in the 62nd minute when he fired in a shot after a pass from
Kevin Kwarteng, who earned the assist.
After a hand ball in the box from ENMU,
Jeremy Hoelzer put the Hillcats up 3-0 with a penalty-kick goal in the 79th minute.
Freshman
Pedro Garcia added the final two tallies for the navy and red with his two goals coming less than three minutes apart. His first goal came on a shot from the top of the box to the right corner of the goal, Garcia's first-ever goal as a Hillcats. The freshman added the second tally in the 85th minute after putting away a ball sent into the box on a free kick from
Noah Robson. Robson picked up assists on both of the Garcia goals.
In the dominating win, RSU posted a 28-5 advantage in shots, including an 11-3 edge in shots on goal. A total of 11 Hillcats registered shots. The Cats totaled six corner kicks and held the Greyhounds to none.
Walker Farrar earned the shutout victory on goal, going the full 90 minutes and finishing with three saves.
The Hillcats end their three-game home stand on Thursday (Oct. 12) against nationally ranked Midwestern State at 5 p.m. at Soldier Field. Coverage will be available on the Hillcat Network at
www.rsuhillcats.com/live.
