PLYMOUTH, Wis. –
Isai Gil (
Jr.-Beaumont, Calif.) and
Bowen Kettner (
So.-Huntley, Ill.) scored two goals each and the Lakeland University men's soccer team started fast and defeated Maranatha Baptist University 7-0 in a Labor Day afternoon non-conference match at John Taylor Memorial Field.
The Muskies scored three goals in the match's first seven minutes on the way to their third straight win, improving to 3-1 overall. Lakeland is 3-1 to start the season for the first time since 2018, and also has three straight wins via shutout for the first time since Sept. 2018.
The Muskies needed just 49 seconds to score in the match.
Austin Eigenberger-Vahsholtz (
Jr.-Grafton, Wis.) won a ball in the air just inside the 18-yard box, heading it back out to defender
Luca Stevens (
So.-New Lenox, Ill.). Stevens then lofted a looping shot from 25 yards out that went over the head of Maranatha goalkeeper Titan McPhillips and into the net for his first collegiate goal.
Lakeland then scored twice in a span of just over 2 1/2 minutes to stretch the lead to 3-0, with Gil scoring both goals. The first came when Eigenberger-Vahsholtz sent a corner kick in to Gil, who made a quick move past one defender, then shot and scored from 15 yards out. The second came when
Dunia Wangu (
Jr.-Milwaukee, Wis.) sent a pass back to Gil outside the penalty arc, who again made one move before firing a shot from 25 yards out with the right foot past McPhillips for his third goal of the season.
The Muskies would begin substituting freely by the middle of the first half and would continue to do so the rest of the game. Lakeland would tack on two more goals late in the first half, the first when a direct free kick from straight on was initially blocked by the Maranatha wall before bouncing to
Madden Skurka (
Jr.-De Pere, Wis.), who headed in a high shot over McPhillips to make it 4-0 in the 38th minute. The Muskies added another goal just over three minutes later when
Diego Flores (
So.-Delavan, Wis.) won a free ball and fed pass through to Kettner, whose shot was deflected by McPhillips but went into the net for a 5-0 lead going into halftime.
Lakeland tacked on two more goals in the second half, including
Tyler Steele (
So.-Middleton, Wis.) scoring his first collegiate goal in the 62nd minute, taking the ball away from a defender, dribbling through the defense and scoring past MBU second half keeper Landon Broere. The Muskies added a final goal in the 85th minute, as an attempted header clear by the Sabercats went right to Kettner, who quickly fired a shot and scored from 15 yards out from the right wing.
Lakeland typically gets a challenge from Maranatha Baptist and won the teams' meeting by a 1-0 score last year, but this time the Muskies outshot the Sabercats 24-2. A total of 36 players saw the field, including all four of the team's goalkeepers.
Jeremiah Reynolds (
So.-Huntley, Ill.) made Lakeland's lone save, coming in the second half.
Lakeland goes on the road for its next match Wednesday when it travels to face Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minn., at 4 p.m.
