Offense Shares the Wealth in Win Against Lions

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

Photo Courtesy of Greg Spell/G-RoxPhotos.com

WALESKA, Ga. – Men's soccer resumed its regular season at home inside Ken White Field at University Stadium on Tuesday night in a non-conference bout with league foe Bryan (Tenn.) in a 5-0 victory over the Lions under the lights.

Reinhardt used three goals in the first half (two in the opening three-plus minutes) to pull away and never look back as the team improved to 10-2 on the year.

"I appreciate the energy and effort the players gave tonight starting from the first minute of the match," head coach Joey Johnson said. "The team had a unified spirit, which is a positive sign as we move closer to postseason play. I am grateful to be working with these young men each day as it is rewarding to watch their development as a team, as individual players – and most importantly – as young men."

That renewed energy to be in front of the home crowd once again was apparent, as Rafael Pais waisted no time getting the hometown squad on the board 92 seconds after the opening whistle. Aaron Whitten then doubled the lead less than two minutes later on a penalty kick to the bottom-left corner for a 2-0 advantage.

Both schools would then settle into the match as Bryan made it harder on its hosts to get the ball when it needed to go, that is until Pavel Dashin broke through off a nice feed from Whitten for a 3-0 cushion at 38:37.

Halftime came and went as the Eagles still held onto a sizeable advantage, and after finding the right pieces off the bench, connected on two more shots – Frans Sigurdsson (61:14) and Sergio Cristaldo (89:16).

Both aforementioned netted attempts came off crisp passes from Pais and Raphael Mospanyuk, respectively.

Reinhardt dominated time of possession as it controlled the ball nearly the entire night with a 25-5 advantage in shots.

The Eagles did a great job of spreading the ball around with four assists on five makes (one penalty kick).

Niko Tzevelekos was victorious in the net and played 74:43 before giving way to Elijah Clark.

The club will now get to work on preparations for the AAC Championship in the coming weeks.

For up-to-the-minute Eagles sports news, follow Reinhardt Athletics on Facebook, @RU_Eagles on Twitter and @ru_eagles on Instagram.

For more information on Reinhardt Men's Soccer, please click here.