Hawks soar past Eagles in Saturday’s win
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Toccoa Falls (0-6-1) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
|
Huntingdon (1-1-0) | 5 | 3 | 8 |
By Chuck Tidmroe
Sports Information Assistant
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon men's soccer team exploded for eight goals against Toccoa Falls on Saturday, defeating the Eagles 8-1.
The Hawks started the game off strong with Mac Puller scoring his first collegiate goal in the third minute off an assist from Jean Jocelyn. Puller then assisted Brendon Van Emelen in the sixth minute to give the Hawks a quick 2-0 lead.
A little over three minutes later, Bo Jenkins scored an unassisted goal for his first goal of the year.
After the quick start, the Hawks (1-1-0) were held scoreless for just under 30 minutes before Van Emelen netted his second goal of the game. Van Emelen would go on to score once more in the second-half to tie a career-high with three goals in a single game. Van Emelen took nine shots in the contest.
Toccoa Falls (0-6-1) ended the shutout attempt by Huntingdon with a goal at the 39:46 mark to make the score 4-1. Freshman Conner Howard scored off a free kick with 10 seconds left to play in the first-half and gave Huntingdon a 5-1 lead at the half.
Head coach Matt Cooper was happy with his team's performance and was glad to rest his starters.
"I thought we came out with energy and an understanding of what we wanted to get out of today's game," Cooper said. "I was happy to be able to rest my starters in this heat. We play again on Sunday, so to be able to have the guys fresh for tomorrow is huge."
The Hawks outshot Toccoa Falls 27-7 and took five corner kicks to the Eagle's zero.
Karter Porter opened the second-half scoring after weaving through the Eagle's defense and giving the Hawks a 6-1 lead at the 54:12 mark.
Van Emelen and Puller each added goals to close out the scoring. Puller took two shots and finished with two goals and one assist. Howard took three shots with all three on goal and scored once.
The Hawks defense, which is led by junior Cam Smith and senior Zach den Besten allowed seven shots to be taken and allowed one goal. Freshman Dakota Gruzdas made his first collegiate start and made two saves while allowing one goal in 65:55 minutes of play.
The Hawks play on Sunday against future USA South Athletic Conference member Berea College at 12 p.m. on the Huntingdon soccer field.
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