Warriors roll to fifth straight win, eclipse school record
By: Waldorf Sports Information Director
MOUNT PLEASANT – The Waldorf University men’s soccer team rolled to its fifth straight win, eclipsing the four-year school record during Tuesday’s 5-0 victory over Iowa Wesleyan University.
“It was great to see everyone being aggressive and taking on players,” Waldorf Coach Michael Wilson said. “We scored some great individual goals.”
Senior Cristian Alvarez, juniors Jean Bonnin, Erik Soares, sophomore Francisco Brasil Burns and freshman Edduin Rodriguez each contributed goals for the Warriors (7-3). Juniors Riley Gibson and Robert Serrano provided assists.
Juan Crespo recorded two shots on goal for the Tigers (1-8-1), while Creighten Chambers added the remaining shot.
Waldorf goalkeeper Humberto Figueroa put together a two-save shutout. The sophomore from Santa Maria, California has three shutouts in his first year with the Warriors. Figueroa ranks third in the Waldorf record books for most shutouts in a season and is in a third-place tie on the career shutouts leaderboard.
Elijah Perez served as the Iowa Wesleyan goalkeeper for the opening 82 minutes, saving 10 of the 14 shots he faced. Trevor Haasis relieved the final eight minutes and tallied two saves against three shots.
Waldorf overpowered Iowa Wesleyan with its offense, finishing the match with a 38-3 shot advantage.
The Warriors and the Tigers were held scoreless during the first 43 minutes. It was during the 44th minute when Soares capitalized on a penalty-kick opportunity to put Waldorf on the board.
Despite entering halftime with a 1-0 lead, the Warriors were hoping to get off to a faster start.
“We came out a little slow in the first half and didn’t take our chances,” Wilson said. “After making a few small adjustments during halftime, we were able to create a lot of goal-scoring opportunities and control the game.”
Alvarez gave the Warriors a 2-0 lead during the 52nd minute after heading a pass from Serrano in for a score. Bonnin built a three-goal cushion after finding the back of the net during the 81st minute. Brasil Burns contributed a score during the same minute, adding Waldorf’s fourth goal just 22 seconds later. Rodriguez took a pass from Gibson and delivered the game’s final score with less than six minutes remaining.
The Warriors host Mount Mercy University (5-2-1) for a 5 p.m. matchup on Oct. 5. Waldorf looks to prepare for a tough showing from the Mustangs.
“We still have a lot to work on and improve,” Wilson said. “Mount Mercy is a very good soccer program that will test us and give us an understanding of exactly where we are in terms of our development. The team is looking forward to the challenge, and we want to see the boys playing at their very best before conference games start.”