The Bob Jones University Bruins men's soccer team picked up a dominant win on Wednesday evening as the team defeated Johnson University (TN) 6-0 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Bruins forward Victor Oladipo scored a pair of goals as the team improved to 2-8 on the season.
"The guys played a solid game tonight with smooth play from back to front," Bruins Head Coach Matt Hotchkin said. "Several goals were scored off combination play and we also scored off a corner which is something we've been working on."
Coming into Wednesday's match, the Bruins were looking for a win as the team had found themselves on the losing end of several close matches. The Royals came into the match at 1-3-3 on the season and were looking to get back into the win column as both teams took the pitch at Morgan Soccer Field.
From the opening kickoff, the Bruins came out and pushed the pace of the game as the team controlled possession and worked the ball into the attacking third. The team was able to generate several quality chances early on with several shots on frame.
In the 14th minute of the match, the Bruins broke into the scoring column as Victor Oladipo scored off an assist from Sebastian Sulik to put the team up 1-0. Oladipo wasn't done as the freshman netted his second goal of the match just seven minutes later off an assist from Andrew Zhang to put the Bruins up 2-0.
The Bruins continued to go on the attack as the team executed good combination play to help them create attack lanes to score. With less than a minute to play in the half, the Bruins were awarded a free kick just outside the box. Freshman Gasheed Lareche rifled a beautiful shot past the keeper to give the Bruins a big momentum boost heading into halftime with a 3-0 lead.
As the second half began, it looked as though the Bruins didn't care about what the score was as the team continued to pressure the Royals and create passing lanes towards the net. The Bruins outshot the Royals 35-4 in the match including a 20-2 on goal margin.
In the 65th minute, Conley Burk extended the Bruins lead as he scored a goal off an assist from Peter Waddy to make it 4-0. Less than two minutes later, Jordan Crews netted his second goal of the season off another assist from Sulik as the Bruins pushed their lead to 5-0.
The Bruins continued to dominant in all facets of the game as they possessed the ball and yielded few chances for the Royals to try to get back into the game. In the 86th minute, Andrew Zhang put the exclamation point on the Bruins dominant performance as he scored a goal off an assist from Nick Marks as the Bruins went on to complete the shutout with a 6-0 win.
"The guys traveled well today and I thought they came into the game with a good mindset," Coach Hotchkin said. "The heat didn't seem to affect our attitudes and that was one of our goals. Scoring helps to build momentum and that's what we are going to do."
Victor Oladipo scored his second and third goals of the season while Sebastian Sulike recorded two assists in the win. Isaac Landry completed his first clean sheet of the season, making two saves against the Royals.
Next up, the Bruins will be back home on Tuesday night for the first of two NCCAA DII South Region matches. The team will welcome Toccoa Falls College to Alumni Stadium on October 8 with the kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.
