RIPON, Wisconsin – Three different Red Hawks scored their first career collegiate goal as the Ripon men's soccer program shut out Maranatha Baptist 5-0 at Hopp Stadium on Tuesday night.
Ripon (4-4-5) wasted no time taking an early lead, peppering the Maranatha Baptist (1-12) keeper right from the start. In the 11th minute,
Eli Dietzel used a pass from
Tim Geocaris to find the back of the net for his third goal of the season, putting Ripon up 1-0.
The Red Hawks kept the pressure on, doubling their lead soon after. In the 29th minute,
Andre Robertson struck the ball perfectly from long range for his fourth goal of the season. Ripon would add one more tally in the first half as
Kaleb Schroeder converted a rocket from the middle of the Sabercats' defensive zone for his first career goal in the 43rd minute.
Ripon led 3-0 at half and outshot MBU 18-1 in the first 45 minutes.
The pace slowed considerably in the second half, though Ripon still managed to add to its lead. Following a free kick and a shot by
Yazan Mekki,
Connor Reiner tapped it in for his first goal in a Ripon uniform in the 64th minute to make it a 4-0 game.
Just two minutes later, Mekki drilled a shot off the crossbar and the ricochet came back to
Saul Valadez who connected for his first career goal, giving Ripon a 5-0 lead.
The 5-0 lead would hold the final 24 minutes to give Ripon its fourth shutout of the season, and second in the last three games.
Ripon had a season-high 32 shots, holding Maranatha Baptist to just 2. The 32 shots are the fourth-most in a single game in program history.
Mekki had a game-high 5 shots off the bench, while freshman
Thomas Geocaris had 4. All told, 17 different Red Hawks recorded a shot.
Christian Hernandez made his first career start in goal and had 2 saves, playing all 90 minutes.
Over two games this season, Ripon outscored the Sabercats 14-0.
UP NEXT: Ripon prepares for a big Midwest Conference test on Saturday (October 21) at 11:30 a.m. as the Red Hawks host Monmouth at Prairie Field.
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