Fighting Tigers overwhelms Thomas, 4-0
CUTHBERT, Ga. -- The Andrew College men's soccer team topped Thomas University's reserve team, 4-0, in a weather delayed match Sunday afternoon at Hord Athletic Complex. With the win, the Fighting Tigers stay undefeated at 6-0-0 on the year while the Night Hawks drop to 0-3-0.
"I think we were slow in the first half," Rudy Roediger, Andrew head coach said. "We got things going late in the half and addressed that at halftime but I also thought TU did a good job of closing our passing channels. We were a little predictable in the first half, but with a very good defensive effort that didn't allow much, the attack got going and scored four very good goals."
After that slow start the Fighting Tigers hit Thomas with back-to-back goals within 40 seconds of one another in the 38th minute.
Andrew opened the scoring with a goal at the 37:49 mark off a long range strike by Lewis Jones (Liverpool, England). James Quinn (Slough, England) took over a broken play and slipped a pass wide to Jones who cut in and smashed the ball into the upper corner past the leaping Lee Howarth.
The boys in Blue & Gold extended the lead 40 seconds later when reigning NJCAA Division I National Player of the Week Connor Heydon (New South Wales, Australia) tracked down a pass from Jones before holding off a defender to smash his team-leading sixth goal of the season past the helpless Howarth to push the Fighting Tigers to a 2-0 lead.
Andrew took the 2-0 lead into the break holding a 13-1 lead in shots, 5-1 on goal over the first 45 minutes. The hosts also held a slim 3-2 lead in corner kicks.
The Fighting Tigers jumped out with two early quick strikes in the second half to cruise to a comfortable 4-0 victory.
Andrew extended its lead to 3-0 in the 47th minute when Heydon received a penetrating pass from Abdel Rivas (Bradenton, Fla.) where the Australian made quick work for his seventh goal of the season beating Shakir Jarrett to the far post.
The Fighting Tigers closed out the scoring 35 seconds later at the 47:40 mark when Daniel Bile found Simon Cobian (Flowery Branch, Ga.). Bile received a long-range service from Josh Fines (Farmborough, England) and cut into the box before laying it off to the West Hall High School alum for his second collegiate goal.
Andrew finished with an 18-5 edge in shots and 7-1 in shots on goal. George Cunha (Pompano Beach, Fla.) made the one save to record his second collegiate shutout.
The Fighting Tigers return to action on Friday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. when they travel to North Miami Stadium to face the Silver Storm of ASA Miami (Fla.). The following day Andrew will head to Pembroke Pines, Fla., to face Broward at 7 p.m.
NOTES
Rank'em: The Fighting Tigers rank No. 6 in the NJCAA in total goals (22) and rank No. 17 in goals against average (0.67).
Shut the Front Door: Behind strong performances in the last two games that saw three different keepers and eight different field players across the back four, the Fighting Tigers allowed a combined two shots on target while blanking both opponents. Those back-to-back shutouts surpassed the previous two years combined single shutout.
Breaking Good: With its 2-1 season opening victory over (RV) Patrick Henry CC on Aug. 21 Andrew College broke a streak of 23 straight losses to NJCAA Division I opponents that lasted 1,054 days. The previous victory came Oct. 1, 2012 when AC defeated Georgia Military 1-0.
No Comparison: The Fighting Tigers improved to 6-0-0 on the season matching the combined wins from the last two seasons.
Scoring: The boys in Blue & Gold scored more goals (18) in the last four matches than the entire 2014 team (17) in the entire season.
Top Opposition: Andrew College is 2-0-0 against teams receiving votes in the 2015 NJCAA Division I Preseason National Poll.
Close: The Fighting Tigers are 2-0-0 in one goal games.
Home Sweet Home: Andrew College is undefeated at home in 2015 with a perfect 4-0-0 record surpassing the most wins at home in modern history.
Road Boys: The Fighting Tigers are undefeated away from Hord Athletic Complex.
First but not Last: Fourteen different first-year players have scored and or assisted for AC through its first six matches and combined for 59-of-66 total points recorded.
Newbies: 28 newcomers have appeared in at least one game for the Fighting Tigers.