Wolves Blitz Indians for Second Conference Win

WESSON – The Co-Lin Men's Soccer team played host to Itawamba on Friday, September 23. The Wolves used an offensive explosion to erase an early deficit and beat the Indians, 6-2, for their second straight win in conference play.

The Indians got on the board first as they scored on a penalty kick goal in the fifth minute to take an early 1-0 lead. However, the Wolves answered just ten minutes later as freshman midfielder Alfie Lally (Manchester, England) scored on a penalty kick goal to tie the game at 1-1 in the 15th minute.

The Wolves then took the lead in the 19th minute as sophomore forward Hardy Lewis (Brandon) scored on a header off a cross by freshman defender Caden McCullough (Byram) to take a 2-1 lead and the Wolves never relinquished the lead for the remainder of the game. The lead increased to 3-1 as freshman forward Diogo Silvestre (Vallorbe, Switzerland) blasted a goal past the Indians keeper in the 27th minute.

Lewis added his second goal of the match, once again on a header, this time off a cross from sophomore midfielder Will Ballenger (Brandon) to increase the Wolves lead to 4-1 in the 38th minute. The Indians added a goal in the 42nd minute to cut the lead down to 4-2, but no further scoring happened for the remainder of the first half.

The Wolves added their final two goals late in the second half as freshman forward Park Smith (Cleveland) found the back of the net after the ball rebounded off the Indians keeper on a save to make the score 5-2 in the 77th minute. The final goal for the Wolves came in the 83rd minute as sophomore midfielder Zach Sorey beat the Indians keeper from outside the box with an assist from sophomore defender Solomon Naylor (Madison) to make the score 6-2.

The Wolves then finished off the second half shutout for the final minutes of the game to secure the 6-2 victory.

"To reply to a 1-0 early deficit with four unanswered goals instantly says a lot about the character of our team," stated Co-Lin head coach Tom Cosgrave. "We had multiple players score goals today from different areas of the field which was very promising to see. That shows the depth of quality we have on this team."

Freshman goalkeeper Leo Summers (Cornwall, England) faced five shots on goal making three saves and allowing two goals.

Co-Lin improves to 5-1-1 overall and 2-0-0 in conference play and will return to action on the road facing off against Southwest on Tuesday, September 27. The action on the pitch between the Wolves and the Bears kicks off at 7 p.m., in Summit.

"We still have a lot of games left to be played this season and we are just taking it one game at a time while focusing on our own individual performances," added Cosgrave.