FORT WORTH – Texas Wesleyan Men's Soccer came out firing Saturday afternoon at Martin Field, showing that 2017 is behind them, with a 5-0 drumming of Wiley College.
It was a total turnaround from last season's 1-0 defeat at Wiley and the boost started from a freshman.
Claudio Barraza from Santiago, Chile netted the first two goals of the season in the 13th and 23rd minute, assisted by
Eder Falcon and
Lee Benting, respectively. The first was the prettiest of the day, as Barraza lifted high to rocket a shot over his head and over Wiley goalkeeper Fernando Garcia, who drifted too far out of his box to stand a chance.
Wesleyan dominated, outshooting Wiley 24-9, including 14 in the second half when the sun was beating down its hardest.
Zion Balogun's spurt in the second half made hopes of a victory for Wiley only a mirage. Balogun's shot from the left wing in the 56th minute from the left wing and his assist to
Mateo Gonzalez in the 68th minute helped build a 4-0 advantage.
Late in the second half,
Diego Alvarez was on a mission. Another freshman, Alvarez had two golden opportunities in the second half to put the Rams up five: the first, (72nd minute) a clear opportunity in goal if not for an out-of-nowhere Marcos Lopez who came in to knock the ball off the goal line and into the corner, running into the right post. Just a few minutes later; the second (77th minute) saved by Garcia on a leap. It wasn't until the 81st minute, that Alvarez broke through.
Following a foul in the box and a Wiley penalty shot, goalkeeper
Diego Casas – four saves on the afternoon – stopped Wiley's best chance at a goal guessing correctly and diving left to make the save. Just 25 seconds later, the Rams attacked and Alvarez found some space for his first Wesleyan goal.
Four of the five goals scored in the match were by new faces to the Rams' squad in 2018.
RAMBLINGS:
Teas Wesleyan earned at least a 5-0 shutout for the fourth year in a row, and against four different teams: Bacone (2015), St. Gregory's (2016), Jarvis Christian (2017) and Wiley. It's the first shutout victory the Rams have had at home since 2013, a 2-0 triumph against Concordia University at Austin.
WHAT'S NEXT:
The Rams will travel to Howard Payne University (Tuesday) and Paul Quinn College (Friday) before returning home to face Our Lady of the Lake Sunday 3 p.m. at Martin Field.
