Men's Soccer Ends Home Slate With 6-0 Blanking of Bluefield (Va.)

By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media

WALESKA, Ga. – Men's soccer ended the home slate in stylish fashion to the tune of a 6-0 victory on the pitch thanks to a complete-team effort against the Rams of Bluefield (Va.) on Saturday afternoon.

Reinhardt (8-0, 8-0 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC)) remained perfect on the season after dominant defense led to netting four second-half goals to cement the win.

"First, I want to take the opportunity to compliment the Rams as I thought they were a class act today and played the game with integrity and character," head coach Joey Johnson said. "Coach Morton's investment in his players is evident in the quality of the young men being developed at BC and it is notable.

"With this being our final home fixture in 2020, it was important for our team to finish well in our home stadium. It was a beautiful day, and with the world as we know it currently, we were grateful for the opportunity to compete together in another AAC match… I rarely mention individuals as I believe any positive strides we take forward throughout a match or a season are reflected in the collective efforts of the team, however, I want to mention the efforts of Raphael Mospanyuk – who scored twice and is a great example of the work ethic, desire and team-first mentality that I value in a player."

Aaron Whitten got the hometown club on the board first less than nine minutes into play, and as previously mentioned, Raphael Mospanyuk doubled the advantage in the 42^nd minute – on what could've been the play of the day – on a breakaway score to head into the locker room up by two tallies.

The Eagles then went on a scoring spree in the early portion of the second half with three goals – Trevor Robinson (51:24), Whitten (52:59) and Gian-Luca Fahling (57:23) – to blow the match wide open with more than 30 minutes to play.

Reinhardt was then able to try different lineups and formations in live action for the remainder of the afternoon while getting experience for much of the roster. The Eagle defense flexed its muscles once again by allowing just two shot attempts (compared to 23 of their own).

That smothering coverage of the Rams provided one last scoring chance, and Mospanyuk made it count by hitting the back of the net with just seconds remaining.

Niko Tzevelekos got another win at goalkeeper after playing the first 45 minutes, before giving way to freshman Elijah Clark, who made his debut without surrendering a goal in the second half.

First place is on the line on Nov. 18 as the team travels to play Tennessee Wesleyan at 2 p.m.

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For more information on Reinhardt Men's Soccer, please click here.