The Slippery Rock University men’s soccer team shut out Shepherd University 4-0 on Sunday to pick up the first win of the season.
SRU’s first shut out of the season featured goals from senior midfielder Zach Hall, junior forward Stephen Donnelly, sophomore defender Stephen McConahy, and sophomore forward Peter Boylan.
Hall, Donnelly and junior defender Declan Brennan were credited with assists in the match.
Shepherd dropped to 0-2-0.
Slippery Rock got on the board in the first few minutes of the game thanks to a goal by Hall. Their lead grew to 2-0 at the 32-minute mark with McConahy’s goal, assisted by Brennan.
Donnelly then scored off of an assist from Hall in the 54th minute, pushing the lead to 3-0. Boylan scored the fourth and final goal of the day on an assist from Donnelly in the 57th minute.
The Green and White led the total shots ratio 18-11, with 8-2 in shots on goal, and 4-2 in corner kick attempts.
Senior goalkeeper Joe Agerskow earned his second shutout of the season with two recorded saves in goal.
Donnelly was impressed with his team’s performance on Sunday.
“I think things are starting to come together,” Donnelly said. “We are doing well as a team in practice and now it’s starting to show in games.”
Donnelly is impressed with how the team is coming together early in the season and every player is making their own contribution.
“It’s great, our team chemistry is really good at the moment, and it shows we don’t need to rely on one person to score goals,” Donnelly said.
On Thursday, September fifth, SRU opened its season at Lake Erie College with a 0-0 draw.
The game went into double overtime, but neither team was able to score. Both teams had 18 shots on goal, but neither team showed any advantage over the other.
Last season, SRU played in six double overtime ties; a school record.
They started nine returning players in this game, with newcomers Brennan and sophomore DJ Kouyate as well. The Rock played 18 players in the game.
Neither team was able to overcome the other in total shots, but SRU did have an 8-4 advantage in shots on goal, and a 6-5 advantage in corner kicks.
Agerskow had his first shutout in this game. He stopped four shots on the day. This was the second matchup all-time between the Rock and Lake Erie. Last season, SRU won 3-0.
SRU’s record has improved to 1-0-1 with the win. The team opened their season with a 0-0 draw in double-overtime against Lake Erie College September 5. On Thursday, Sept. 5, SRU opened its season at Lake Erie College with a 0-0 draw.
The Green and White will travel to Urbana University Sept. 13 to cap off their three-game road trip before returning home Sept. 17 to face West Virginia Wesleyan. Game time is set for 1:30 p.m.
