Gophers Rout Greyhounds to Conclude Conference Play
TOWSON, Md. — Nate Margolis (Ivyland, Pa./Council Rock North) led the Landmark Conference in assists last season and his two assist effort today, along with a goal, gave him the conference lead in assists this year and helped the Gophers to a 5-0 win.
Four Scorers Tally Five Goals; Bay Scores Twice
TOWSON, Md. — Nate Margolis (Ivyland, Pa./Council Rock North) led the Landmark Conference in assists last season and his two assist effort today, along with a goal, gave him the conference lead in assists this year and helped the Gophers to a 5-0 win.
Parker Bay (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) got Goucher (4-9-1, 2-5 Landmark) on the board first when he coralled a low pass into the six from George El-Khoury (Cranford, N.J./Cranford). Bay showed patience and picked his side, beating the keeper low to the keeper's right.
Margolis made the lead two when he tracked down a clearance from Lashaw Salta (Allen, Texas/Plano East) and found himself uncovered in the box. The sophomore moved the ball in from the wing and went to the far side to find the net.
Less than two minutes later, Margolis made the most of a free kick opportunity, putting the ball on net. After a save by Moravian (5-10-1, 0-6 Landmark), Sean Canepa (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) notched his first career goal on the rebound.
Coming out of halftime with a 3-0 lead, El-Khoury continued Goucher's offensive surge, taking advantage of a defensive communication breakdown which put him on the receiving end of a Hudson Bielecki (Olivebridge, N.Y./Onteora) short ball behind the defense. El-Khoury had plenty of time and help along side, with no defender in sight. The goalkeeper bit on a pass fake to Margolis and gave El-Khoury a clear shot.
With four different players scoring and four different players supplying assists, Bay and Margolis teamed up to double their totals. Margolis fought for a loose ball the got around his defender before slotting it to Bay in the box.
His second assist gave Margolis eight on the year, the most by a Goucher player in one
season since Kevin Bartruff was credited with eight assists in 2004. No player has had more than eight since Steve Montgomery's 15-assist 1994 campaign. He now has the most overall assists (8) and conference assists (4) in the 2012 campaign.
Preserving the shutout was Scott Witte (Wall Twp., N.J./Wall), who stopped the only two shots on goal he faced.
This is the largest margin of victory for Goucher in a conference game since the team joined the Landmark. Before this game, Goucher had never won a game by three or more.