SALISBURY, N.C. — The Catawba College men's soccer team put in a whole hand of goals in its 5-1 home opener victory over the Mount Olive Trojans on Wednesday at Frock Field.
TEAM STATS
- Catawba (2-1) stacked up 19 shots with eight on goal, while Mount Olive (0-3) delivered seven attempts including two on target
- The Catawba Indians set up seven corner kicks in comparison to the Trojans' two
- The match was excessively physical, resulting in Catawba leading the foul count 16-15 as UMO accounted for three of the five cards shown
- Time of possession favored Catawba (56%), who mostly opted to play out the back in opposition to the Trojans' tendency to hold the ball in their attacking half
INDIVIDUAL STATS
- Máté Kenyeres notched his second consecutive brace, sending both of his shots past the Trojan keeper
- Juan Camilo turned in the first three points of his career on a goal and an assist
- Carlos Zapata and Vito Venaría also tickled the twine for Catawba
- Tomas Kelly distributed a career-high two assists, providing a key touch on the contest's first two goals
- In net, Héctor Vara made one save en route to earning his second career win
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- Catawba cracked open the ledger in the third minute when Camilo punched in a goal stemming from Kelly's corner kick delivery on the doorstep
- Though the blue and white were called to the corner four more times in the next 20 minutes, the Trojans succeeded in clearing away any potential chances
- Following multiple offensive setups that fizzled out, Kelly squeezed a feed to a dashing Venaría in the box that the Argentinian booted ahead; a defender's attempt to halt the shot wound up being merely a deflection into the goal
- A combined four yellows were flashed, two for each side, before the half's conclusion including a double-carding against players from both teams due to persistence
Second Half
- The hosts saw a 54th-minute corner kick parlay into another score when Camilo halted a clearing attempt and got the ball to Kenyeres for the finish
- Five minutes later, after trading shots in the moments prior, Giovanni Benericetti finished a long drive by dishing the rock to Kenyeres whose whipping left-footer was gloved, but proved too hot to handle and bounced in
- The floodgates were brittle already, but a 64th-minute foul in the box broke them open; Zapata drew it and took the PK, depositing a no-doubter into the upper-right slot
- Jordan Alexander got the Trojans on the board with 13:17 left in the match, but the damage was done as Catawba cruised to the 5-1 finish
NOTES
- At eight total goals through three games, Catawba is off to its highest-scoring start since 2011
- Since Kenyeres came to Salisbury last year, the Hungarian has scored exclusively in twos (three different matches, two goals in each)
- Kenyeres remains the only Catawba Indian with multiple goals on the year at four; four players have one apiece
- Five Catawba Indians made their debuts in blue and white, led by freshman Thomas Füreder who roamed the field for 61 minutes
UP NEXT
Catawba returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 13 at Carson-Newman for its South Atlantic Conference opener. Kickoff from Mossy Creek is slated for 7:30 p.m.
