Men's Soccer caps impressive week with ranked win over Tusculum

Salisbury, N.C. – The Catawba College men's soccer team put a bow on an impressive week, upending 23rd-ranked Tusculum Saturday night to improve to 4-1-1 on the year.

TEAM STATS

- Catawba was constantly putting pressure on the Pioneers offensively, outshooting the visiting side 25-12 and forcing Tusculum goalkeeper Nicolas Leite into nine saves on the night

- Catawba goalkeeper Zak Stiffler produced several clutch saves on the night, with five total for his third straight shutout and fourth on the year

- Catawba's backline of Gage Bernard, Nate Burns, August Joensson, and Jacopo Suagher also put in a tidy shift on the night, helping Catawba fend off multiple chances and eight opportunities from corners for Tusculum

- Tusculum saw five players given yellow cards, while three Catawba players were also cautioned in a game with 21 total fouls

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

- Joe Allerton and Kenny Hassler each scored for Catawba in the win, the first of the season for both players

- Oscar Taylor notched his first assist of the season on Hassler's goal

- Sebastia Cerda-Tous led the way with six shots, as he and Juan Pablo Nicoletti each had three attempts on goal

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

- Tusculum nearly endured a disastrous start to the first half, as Leite rushed out of goal and fouled Cerda-Tous in the 6th minute as he latched onto a through ball and attempted to skip past the Pioneers' keeper. Leite would be shown a yellow card and Vito Veneria would send the resulting free kick just wide

- Salano Birch would come agonizingly close in the 7th minute, forcing a massive double-save from Leite with a pair of close range attempts

- Nicoletti would forced another save and Cerda-Tous would hit the woodwork all before the 10-minute mark as Catawba piled on early

- Catawba had a huge chance just past the half hour mark, as they were awarded a penalty following a crunching tackle in the box. Cerda-Tous stepped up, only to see his effort low and to the right saved by Leite

- But a Tusculum handball inside the box would again give Catawba the opportunity to break the deadlock from the penalty spot. With Cerda-Tous having been substituted earlier, captain Joe Allerton stepped up and slotted home into the bottom left corner to put Catawba ahead in the 37th minute

- The home side wasn't done, either; following a Stiffler save on Henry Ndubueze, a flowing Catawba counterattack would see Taylor pick out Hassler on the opposite side of the field, and he made no mistake to smash home just 47 seconds before halftime and double the lead

SECOND HALF

- Tusculum pushed hard to regain ground, with Stiffler having to make a pair of saves just past the 50-minute mark against J-P Vital and Ndubueze

- Nicoletti and Cerda-Tous would test Leite multiple times, and Taylor would hit the post from close range as Catawba continued to threaten into the second half

- Stiffler capped off his night with a huge save in the 88th minute, parrying away a dangerous long rage effort from Isak Tallwin to secure the clean sheet

UP NEXT

- Catawba is back in action on Wednesday, Sept. 27, traveling to Coker for a showdown with the previously nationally ranked Cobras at 7 p.m.