Press Release Written by Mitchell Coll
LAFAYETTE HILL, Pa. - - The Wildcats' offensive pressure was too much for the shorthanded Griffins in a 3-0 victory Wednesday evening in a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference matchup at Victory Field.
The Wildcats (3-2-2, 2-0 CACC) wasted no time putting pressure on the Griffins in the first half. Max Nordan registered the first shot for the 'Cats 51 seconds in off of a clearance attempt by the defense that just sailed over the bar. The Wildcats had another great opportunity early in the match, in the 6th minute. A beautiful switch of the field found Yohan Kim with the ball on the left side of the field. Kim crossed the ball to the far post and found Ryuga Uchugashima, who just put the ball wide left with a header attempt.
Richard Thompson recorded the first shot on goal in the 21st minute. Thompson's shot on goal came from a direct kick on the left side and outside of the 18-yard box. Chavez Brooks tested his luck from 30 yards out with a hard low shot that Brooks connected with well but was pushed away by Griffin's goalkeeper.
Bas Markus stopped the only chance the Griffins had in the first half. The Griffins had a dangerous opportunity from a free kick 35-plus yards out. A good ball gave Markus a test, but he handled it well, coming off his line and collecting the ball in the air.
Chestnut Hill went a man down after a second yellow resulted in a red card in the 25th minute. A hard red card in the 32nd minute put the Griffins down two men for the remainder of the contest.
The Wildcats finally broke through late in the first half. In the 37th minute, the Wildcats earned a corner that the Griffins could clear successfully. Bas Markus was able to meet the ball at midfield to start the Wildcat attack. Malcom Young was able to find Osiel Robledo with a 20-yard ball that Robledo located in the air, brought it down with his left foot, and shot the ball with his right foot that found the back of the net. The goal had the Wildcats up 1-0 in the first half.
The Wildcats wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in the second half as Richard Thompson whipped in a ball from the right side of the pitch. Tajhay Williams deserved every bit of the goal as he put his body on the line with a fantastic diving header attempt. His efforts were rewarded, as the ball beat the Griffins' goalkeeper for the Wildcats' second goal of the night in the 47th minute.
The Griffins had a go at a shot from a distance that Yvan Moundou collected. Moundou saw quickly that the Wildcats had numbers forward. Moundou found Marcus Hedemann making a run and connected with him off a beautiful distribution. Hedemann took care of the rest by making two defenders and the goalkeeper miss with a fake shot attempt, then found an open net to score goal number three for the 'Cats.
The Wildcats outshot the Griffins 23-4 with 15 shots on goal. Bas Markus and Yvan Moundou combined for four saves in the clean sheet. The Wildcats also earned eight corners throughout the match.
The 'Cats will return home on Saturday, September 17 to take on Dominican University at the WU Athletics Complex. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 p.m.