Men’s soccer continues hot start
The Scots continued their rich vein of form with two more shut outs last week in front of fans at Peacock Memorial Athletic Park.
Wednesday, September 11, saw the Scots take on Rockford University in a non-conference matchup. The opening exchanges were fairly even with both teams crafting chances in a tight contest. However, in the tenth minute of the game, lively forward Nico Esparon ’22 pounced on a delightful ball from the silky midfielder Alvaro Alvarez ’21 and tucked away a cool finish as the Scots took the lead.
Despite some nervy moments, Scots goalkeeper Marcos Garibay ’23 stood tall in the first half denying the opposition any chance of a goal with some crucial saves. To add insult to injury, Monmouth freshmen Reid Sondgeroth and James Azzi netted home the second, minutes before the interval, giving the Scots a 2-0 lead at the break.
In the second half, the Scots defense was constantly bombarded with attacks but managed to keep a clean sheet intact. To round out the game, seniors Lucas Sondgeroth and Cadan Glattback combined to net the final goal of the game and drive home Monmouth’s advantage with a late sealer.
Next up for the Scots was the Sept. 14 contest against Westminster College on another sunny afternoon. Drawing inspiration from Liverpool’s tactics in the Premier League, Monmouth came out of the blocks firing and had a goal inside the first two minutes of play. The smooth-moving Alvarez ’21 attacked a sumptuous cross from Lukas Nilsson ’20 and thundered the ball into the back of the net to give the Scots the lead. Stunned by the tactics of Monmouth, Westminster was unable to deal with the frenetic style of play and conceded two more goals before the half, added by Reid Sondgeroth ’23 and Glattback ’20. The second half began with more of the same as Azzi ’23 added to his goalscoring tally, netting a fourth goal for the Scots. After another resounding win, Monmouth moved to 4-1 on the season and took on Iowa Wesleyan University on Sept. 18.
Kieren Marshall - Contributing Writer