Box Score Man of the Match: Alexander Garuba
DANVILLE, Ky. – The Centre College men's soccer team cruised past Georgetown (Ky.) Saturday under the lights at Andrew P. Amend Field, opening the 2017 campaign with a 9-1 victory at the second Alumni Classic.
The Colonels (1-0-0) treated fans to an offensive clinic against the visiting Tigers (0-2-0), putting 18 of their 31 shots on goal. Nine goals is the most Centre has scored in singe match in more than five seasons.
Along with a Georgetown own goal, seven different Colonels found the back of the net.
Senior defender Jesse DiLuzio (North Woodmere, N.Y.) wasted little time putting Centre on the board, netting a goal off an assist by junior midfielder Alexander Garuba (Atlanta) in the 3' mark. Less than two minutes later, a Georgetown defender inadvertently put the ball in his own net to make it 2-0 in favor of the home side.
Georgetown briefly pulled within a goal after Blaine Skeen converted a penalty kick, but it was not long before Centre put the match out of reach.
Senior defender Caleb Vogel (Shelbyville, Ky.) scored off a Nick Mazzarella (Danielson, Conn.) corner to make it 3-1 at the half, and junior Jacob Haddad (Brentwood, Tenn.) opened the second-half scoring with a goal off of Garuba's second helper.
Senior Noah Wesley-Chevalier (Cincinnati, Ohio) gave Garuba his third assist of the night on a goal in the 53rd minute.
Centre potted four goals in the final 15 minutes of action to put the finishing touches on the rout. Senior Brad Nordin (Paintsville, Ky.) scored an unassisted goal, and was followed by freshman Nathan Wilcox's (Lexington, Ky.) first collegiate goal off a Dylan Barth (Louisville, Ky.) assist.
Freshman forward Royce Pope (Tampa, Fla.), also making his debut, scored the final two goals of the night in the late staged of the match. Mazzarella and freshman Will Newton (Lexington, Ky.) assisted Pope's scores.
On the other end of the field, junior keeper Bailey Spade (Frankfort, Ky.) saw just two shots on goal and came up with one save.
Centre has a quick turnaround before tomorrow's (Sunday's) 4:30 p.m. ET match against Spalding.
