Central, SC - The Southern Wesleyan University Warriors Men's Soccer team was defeated by Shaw University on Wednesday evening. The Warriors struggled from the opening whistle, and the Bears gave them no room to breathe earning a strong result.
SWU recorded 17 shots, seven of them on target.
Diego Hernandez led the team in total shots with seven, followed by
Ryan Rodriguez with three and
Tipton Wright and
Feren Nunez with two. Conference Carolinas reigning Defender of the Week,
Marco Iniguez, played all 90 minutes in goal for the Warriors, finishing with five saves.
Game Vitals
Final: Southern Wesleyan 0, Shaw 5
Records: Southern Wesleyan (1-1-1), Shaw (3-0-1)
How it Happened
Shaw came out with great energy from the kickoff, pressing SWU hard and causing mistakes from the Warriors' defenders. One of those mistakes came just three minutes into the game, as Bears forward Nathan Skeete pounced to make it 1-0. That pressure continued for the majority of the half, and the Bears would get a second through Zamal Mallebranche in the 18th minute. The Warriors did begin to settle in midway through the first half, with freshman
Dillon Bennett being a bright spot down the left wing. Another Warrior who impressed was
Ryan Rodriguez. Although he was used in several positions during the match, Rodriguez brought life off the SWU bench settling pressure, drawing fouls, and challenging the Shaw net. Although the Warriors seemed to come out of the halftime locker room with better energy, Shaw scored just three minutes later. After that, the Bears began to sit back and absorb the SWU pressure, and scored each of their final two goals on the counter-attack.
Diego Hernandez was named the Warriors' "Spark Plug of the Game", a team-selected award for the player who brought great energy and an impactful performance. Hernandez was the closest of any Warrior to finding the back of the net, and he worried the Shaw goalkeeper on several occasions. He had a beautiful left-footed strike and did a great job of getting shots off in tight spaces.
What's Next
The Warriors open up Conference Carolinas play at Emmanuel on Wednesday, September 12th, at 7:00 PM followed by North Greenville at home on September 16th.
