#25 Rocky Mountain Controls the Pace in Win over the Wolves
Paul Starkebaum, Sports Information Director
College Place, Wash.- Right from the start the Bears (6-2) established they wanted to dominate the ball. Walla Walla (0-4) played a conservative defense but the careful passing of Rocky Mountain found the cracks in the defense. Nolan Sherwood scored three goals and one assist, and his teammate Chase Lasure also recorded three goals. Josh Fry, goalkeeper for the Wolves did give up eight goals, he also managed 20 saves in the match.
In the first half, Walla Walla had a tough time getting possession of the ball. The Bears often brought the ball back to setup their attack, and work it down the sideline for a shot.
Nolan Sherwood found the net for Rocky Mountain just passed the 26
th minute for his first goal of the day. This proved to be the first of a flurry of scores by Rocky, as they would score five total goals in the first 45 minutes. Chase Lasure found himself in the box off a pass from Sherwood, and scored again just five minutes after the opening goal. A penalty kick by Luca Wiechers under a minute later but Rocky up another goal. Before the half was over, Nolan Sherwood would score two more goals.
Walla Walla found themselves down big entering the second half, but refused to cave in. Martin Chinn and Foluwasomi Oyefeso showed their leadership, doing an excellent of keeping their teammates focused despite the score. The Wolves fought to keep the ball out of the middle and held the Bear scoreless until a goal by Chasen Lasure in the 62
nd minute. He was assisted by Bilechi Sumali, who finished with only one assist in the game but was often pushing the ball down the left sideline and finding his teammates for shot on goal. Chase would score his hat trick goal just over the 70-minute mark and Mathew Thomas score the eighth and final goal of the match.
Rocky Mountain College heads home for their next 4 matches, taking on the University of Great Falls and Carroll College next weekend. The Wolves hit the road for the first time this season, taking on Northwest University on Friday and The Evergreen State College on Sunday.