The Bruins men's soccer team stormed out in their season opener as the team scored five first-half goals en route to a 9-0 shutout of Toccoa Falls College on Saturday night at Alumni Stadium. Gasheed Lareche led the Bruins with a hat trick while the team didn't allow a single shot from TFC throughout the match.
"Our guys needed to come out strong and make a statement and I thought they did that tonight," Bruins Head Coach Matt Hotchkin said. "Some of our new guys have really breathed some life into our team and stirred the pot and I am excited to see where we can go as a team."
From the opening kickoff, the Bruins came out strong with great possession and tempo as they created opportunities to score. It didn't take long for the Bruins to find the back of the net as Peter Waddy took advantage of a misplayed ball by the TFC keeper and scored to put the Bruins up 1-0. Less than five minutes later, Gasheed Lareche extended the Bruins lead with a goal to make it 2-0.
As the half wore on, the Bruins continued to pressure the Eagles into turnovers and took advantage in using good combination play to create open looks. In the 24th minute, freshman Eli Solomon scored his first goal as a Bruin with a beautiful shot past the Eagles' keeper to make it 3-0.
Less than a minute later, Solomon would get his first assist as he found Victor Oladipo for a goal to make it 4-0. Just before the end of the first half, freshman Micah Hennegan scored to make it 5-0 as the Bruins took a commanding lead into the break.
In the second half, the Bruins again started off the half strong as Gasheed Lareche scored his second goal of the contest less than two minutes into the half to put the Bruins up 6-0. Lareche would cap off the hat trick in the 56th minute as he scored a goal to put the Bruins up 7-0.
With the game decided, the Bruins continued to use crisp passing and high energy to create open looks. Uriel Gomez extended the Bruins lead with a goal in 74th minute and Jordan Crews put an exclamation point on the Bruins win with a rocket shot in the 87th minute as the Bruins rolled to a 9-0 victory.
"We know we have some challenging games coming up so we are looking forward to seeing how we've grown these last few weeks as a team," Coach Hotchkin said.
The Bruins outshot TFC 37-0 in the match. Gasheed Lareche led the Bruins with three goals while Conley Burk notched two assists. Eli Solomon had a goal and an assist as the team improves to 1-0 on the season.
Next up, the Bruins will be on Thursday as they face Middle Georgia State University in Cochran, Georgia. Kickoff for the match is set for 6 p.m.
