The Basics
Score: Evangel 5, UHSP 0 | Box Score
Record: Evangel (1-0-0), UHSP (0-1-0)
Location: Creve Couer, Mo. (Creve Couer Soccer Park)
CREVE COUER, Mo. – Valor Men's Soccer competed in their season opener on a rainy Saturday afternoon, taking on the UHSP Eutectics. The Valor opened the season with a flurry of goals, including a hat trick from transfer Ted Okoroh, taking a strong 5-0 victory to open the season.
Evangel was able to score a goal on their first shot attempt of the match, when Ted Okoroh placed a nice pass between a pair of defenders to Rem Harmsworth who buried a goal in the lower left corner of the goal. Just six minutes after Harmsworth's goal, Okoroh was on the receiving end of a feed from Gabriel Eneh. Okoroh was able to thread a shot between a defender and just over the goalkeeper, pushing EU out to a 2-0 lead. The Valor backline shut down any chance the Eutectics had at pushing their offense, as EU took a 2-0 lead into the halftime break.
Evangel kept their attack firing to open the second half, racking up several shots to put pressure on the UHSP keeper. On a corner kick from Igor Ovcarevic, Okoroh found his second goal of the afternoon as he raced in and met the ball, burying it into the back of the goal. Harmsworth was able to net his second goal of the match, eleven minutes following Okoroh's, when Ted was able to hit a pass between two defenders to Rem, who had an easy shot on goal. For the final goal of the afternoon, Okoroh again received a nice feed from Ovcarevic, hitting the ball off his chest and into the goal for the hat trick. Evangel's defense was able to keep the Eutectics offense at bay, shutting UHSP down and taking a 5-0 victory in the 2023 season opener.
HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTABLE
"Our team stepped into today's match set on making our system work and it paid off. The starting team was patient and on the ball we were able to stay connected well and keep possession of the ball. We didn't panic and waited for UHSP to make a mistake," Men's Soccer Head Coach Kyle Beard stated. "They (UHSP) were tactically smart and had a good defensive strategy that made our team work hard to find gaps to run in. Rem caused the defense to run more than they wanted, while Igor and Lucas were really accurate with their passes. Ted played very well from the attacking mid position. All in all, the team played very smart and cool headed. Our back line was clinical and Anthony played his best game to date in goal with a clean sheet!"
UP NEXT
Evangel Men's Soccer will travel to Springdale, Ark., to take on the Ecclesia College Royals on Wednesday (Aug. 30) evening at 5:00 p.m.
For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, visit Facebook at Facebook.com/EvangelValor, Twitter (@EvangelValor), or EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on their favorite EU teams by downloading the Evangel Athletics Gameday App through the App Store or Google Play. Â
