Mountaineers Shutout Lions, 3-0, on Senior Day
EOU Sports Information
LA GRANDE, Ore. – Eastern Oregon University Men’s Soccer wrapped up spring season play Monday afternoon on a positive note as the Mountaineers once again shutout the Multnomah University Lions 3-0 inside Community Stadium. With the win, EOU finishes the year 4-7-0 overall and went 3-5-0 in CCC East Division Play.
Prior to kickoff on Monday, Head Coach Jessy Watson and the Mountaineers honored five seniors for their contributions to the programs. Being recognized ahead of kickoff were Antonio Gracia, Alexander Zuluaga, Dillon Van Rensburg, Patrick Larsen, and Lewis Wright.
How it Happened
• Eastern once again applied the pressure on both sides of the ball during the 90 minutes of action. The Mountaineers outshot the Lions (0-11, 0-8 CCC East) 18-8 for the game and had a 6-2 edge in shots on goal.
• Helping the Mountaineers in the win as well was corner kicks as they put up seven and allowed the Lions to take just four in the game. Play was physical on both sides as the two teams combined for 34 fouls in the contest, with Multnomah committing 19 while EOU had 15.
• Looking to keep up the tempo from the day before EOU nearly matched its scoring from game one as the team put up three goals in the shutout. In the first 45 minutes of action, EOU scored twice to take a 2-0 lead into halftime.
• Find the back of the net for what was the gamewinner was Alvin King III in the 28th minute. He was able to score from inside the penalty area on a corner kick from Santiago Peniche and quick pass from Dillon Vans Rensburg. The initial kick in and pass allowed King to hit the bottom middle area of the net to make it a 1-0 lead for EOU.
• The score remained 1-0 until the final minute of play in the first period. The Mountaineers pushed their lead to 2-0 with just 59 seconds on the clock (45’) as King intercepted a pass at midfield and hit Rudy Salinas-Solorio in stride for the goal right before halftime.
• Coming out break, the Mountaineers and Lions both put up six shots in the second 45 minutes of action. For Multnomah, all four of its corner attempts in the game came in the second period. For EOU, they surrendered just two shots on goal with Antonio Gracia making saves on both.
• The final goal for eastern came in the 70th minute as freshman Nick Ridgely teamed up with Alexander Zuluaga for the goal. Ridgely got deep into the right side of the penalty area and made a quick cross to Zuluaga who nailed a no-look goal to the right bottom corner of the net to put EOU ahead by the final of 3-0.
Mountaineers Stat leaders
• Alvin King III led the offense scoring a goal, which was the gamewinner, and tallied an assist for three points off the bench. He took three shots overall and had one shot on goal.
• Alexander Zuluaga had a goal scored and finished with two shots overall, with one coming on goal.
• Rudy Salinas-Solorio also scored a goal in the win and took three shots total for the game. He had one shot on goal.
• Both Santiago Peniche and Dillon Van Rensburg had an assist in the win and took one shot, respectively.
• Patrick Larsen took the most shots with a game-high of six, with one coming on goal.
• Antonio Gracia tallied his second shutout of the year in his start at goalkeeper. He finished with two saves.
For the Lions
• Aaron Morales led Multnomah’s offense with three shots taken and had one come on goal.
• Noe Magana tallied two shots in the loss, with one coming on goal.
• In net, Jose David Lopez and Pablo Mendoza-Osornia split time for the Lions. Lopez was dealt the loss and had one save. Osornia had two saves in the second half.
By the Numbers
51 – In two games against Multnomah, EOU totaled 51 shots on offense.
2 – In net, Antonio Gracia posted a pair of shutouts in his final two games for the Mountaineers.
3 – EOU posted three shutout wins this season, with each one coming at home.
7 – In two wins against the Lions, the Mountaineers scored seven total goals and seven total assists.
21 – Eastern racked up 21 total points in the two wins of the regular season finale.