Quick Start Leads Men's Soccer to Victory

It was a beautiful evening here at Beldon field as the Goucher men's soccer team looked rejuvenated and got out to a hot start against the visiting Hood College Blazers, taking a quick 2-0 lead before extending the lead to three just before halftime. Xavier Dever (Hollywood, MD/Leonardtown) got the Gopher offense on the scoreboard two minutes into the game with a fantastic finish off of the pass from Yaya Diabagate (Hyattsville, MD/International HS at Langley Park). The Gopher offense kept the firepower going off of goals from Jeremiah Odubade (Capital Heights, MD/Fairmont Heights) and Abou Makine (Baltimore, MD/Patterson HS), Odubade's of which came off of a beautiful through from Ali Kazim Nakhid (Beiruty, Lebanon/UMBC).

The Gophers kept the offensive pressure backed by staunch goaltending from Jeff Castro (Egg Harbor Township, NJ/Egg Harbor) and his defensive unit led by Adrian Mubiru (Riverdale Park, MD/International HS at Langley Park) at the center back position. Yaya Diabagate also held down the wings, with support from Senior Leader Zach LaFaver (Hanover, PA/South Western) who has been consistent all year long. After Nakhid pushed the lead to 4-0 in favor of the Gophers, the Blazers decided they would not go away without a fight and came roaring back with 3 unanswered goals from 3 different players. The main one from Christian Urbina in the 82^nd minute off of a free kick. Their late effort was not enough as the Gophers kept the offensive pressure up despite some late game dramatics. A shot from the Gophers at the buzzer was discounted, though put the exclamation mark on a hard fought win for the Gophers.

The Gophers return to action on Tuesday, September 14^th, when they travel to McDaniel to take on the Green Terror; game time is set for 4pm.