SRU men’s soccer defeats Storm for first victory of season

The victory, which concluded the team’s season-opening two-game road trip, evened its season record at 1-1, was the Rock’s first win over the Storm in close to five years. The win also gave SRU the advantage in the all-time series between the two schools, 2-1-1.

Lake Erie entered the game in hopes of replicating the offensive success they enjoyed in their previous outing, where they scored three goals in a win over Roberts Wesleyan. They notched the first shot of the game in the third minute, which was saved by Slippery Rock goalie Jonathan Sharp. SRU put itself up early, as junior midfielder Anthony Werth broke the seal on the scoreboard with a goal in the 18^th minute that was assisted by Sean Tinney, a freshman from Carnegie, Pennsylvania.  The score was the second that Werth has had in a green and white uniform and the first for the Rock this season.

Following the SRU goal, the Storm had four corner kicks in the span of 22:07 to 23:35, the final one producing a shot that sailed wide right of the SRU net.

The team built upon its lead less than two minutes after the intermission when Kyle Boyer snuck one past the Storm’s goalkeeper in the 46^th minute. Again, the goal was aided by Tinney, whose two assists on the day were the first of his college career. Slippery Rock ended the game holding the advantage in both shots (12-10) and shots on goal (7-4).

Sharp dashed the Storm’s hopes of manufacturing offense, recording his career’s first shutout in protecting the net from the four shots that the Storm had on goal. It was the first time an SRU team had blanked an opponent since early in last October, when the Rock beat East Stroudsburg University 1-0.