GEORGETOWN, Texas – The Pirate men's soccer team used a constant barrage of shots to win in impressive fashion, 4-1, over #13 Chapman University on Sunday afternoon. The win improves Southwestern to 3-4-1 while Chapman falls to 6-3.
Southwestern took command of the game early, playing an impressive style of possession soccer. The Pirate's patience paid off in the 20th minute when Matt Landon fed a perfect ball up the near sideline to Colin McCulloch. McCulloch sped past the Chapman defensive line in an aggressive offside trap and played the ball into the box to Evan Perkins four yards from the goal. Perkins took one touch to get the keeper off balance and the second touch delivered the ball into the back of the net, putting SU up 1-0.
Chapman went on attack at the end of the second half, pressuring the Southwestern defense, but the line held strong to maintain a 1-0 lead heading into the break.
As the second half got underway the Pirates turned it on early as Charlie Schreck broke free from the pack less than a minute into the period. His line drive shot drilled off the cross bar and the Panthers cleared out the threat for an SU corner kick. Just a few minutes later Paden Williams' shot from 10-yards out hit the crossbar as well, predicting another SU goal soon to come.
Perkins made the prediction a reality in the 50th minute. Williams shot a bullet from 20 yards out, forcing CU keeper Jimmy Adranly to make a beautiful diving save but he couldn't control the ball as Perkins was there for the put back, giving SU a 2-0 lead.
Just minutes later Perkins made it a hat trick on the day with a goal on a free kick from 25 yards out. His shot sailed just high enough to be out of Adranly's reach and slid under the crossbar for the 3-0 lead.
Chapman attempted to chip away at the deficit but the Southwestern defensive line held strong with a great save by Daniel Poole on a header by Mauricio Alfonso. Alfonso got his goal on the next attack as he dribbled from midfield and took a shot from 30 yards out that bounced off the right post and into the left netting to cut SU's lead to two, 3-1.
The Pirates weren't done yet and scored again in the 73rd minute to push their lead back to three, 4-1. Max Oldham brought the ball up from midfield after the Pirate defense stifled a Panther attack, and fed a perfect through ball to Timothy Eamma who was making a run diagonally right to left towards goal. Eamma ran down the pass and beat one defender, leaving him one-on-one with Adranly in goal and easily beat him with a high shot as Adranly hit the deck.
Chapman kept the Southwestern defense busy as the game wound to a close, sensing the upset in the making. Nick Pierce made some great saves in the final 20 minutes to kept the Panthers from closing the gap.
Each team had 13 shots on the day while Chapman took two more corner kicks, 6-4, than the Pirates.
The match marks the end of non-conference play for the Pirates as they open SCAC Conference action on Friday against Sewanee. Game time is set for 7pm CST.