COLUMBUS, Miss. - The Spalding University men's soccer team kickstarted its St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) schedule in dominant fashion on Saturday afternoon, powering past Mississippi University for Women (The W) with a 6-1 victory at the Roger Short Soccer Complex in Columbus, Mississippi. The Golden Eagles established control from the opening seconds, outshooting the Owls 22-8 to earn their first conference victory of the season and improve to 2-6-1 overall (1-0-0 SLIAC).
Spalding wasted no time setting the tone, striking just 50 seconds into the contest when
Adam Gritton buried a pass from
Jacobi Hinkle to put the Golden Eagles ahead 1-0. The offensive pressure paid off again in the 12th minute when an Owls defensive mishap resulted in an own goal, doubling Spalding's cushion. Just before the halftime whistle in the 45th minute, substitute
Gabriel Sandefur extended the lead to 3-0 by converting a pass from
Trey McCoomer, sending Spalding into the break with full momentum.
The Golden Eagles picked up right where they left off in the second half, adding three more goals to secure a commanding margin.
Ryder Roberson opened the second-half scoring in the 49th minute off a feed from
Jose Huerta. In the 61st minute, Gritton found the back of the net for the second time on the day following a setup from
Benit Mulume.
Jamie Seago made it 6-0 in the 76th minute after finishing a play set up by Sandefur. MUW managed to spoil the clean sheet in the 80th minute when Gracen Williams scored off an assist from Joao Pais, but Spalding comfortably closed out the remainder of the match.
Overall, Spalding showcased a deep roster and dynamic attack, accumulating nine corner kicks and placing seven shots on goal while rotating four goalkeepers—
Arthur Rudolphi,
Dylan Hash,
Cooper Bowen, and
Gabe Brangers—throughout the afternoon. Rudolphi led the unit with two saves across 60 scoreless minutes to set the foundation for the victory. With the win, the Golden Eagles will look to build a conference winning streak as SLIAC play continues on the road against Principia College.
