Saints strike early, often to record first win over Indiana East

The Holy Cross College men’s soccer team tallied its first victory of the season against Indiana East on Saturday night. Both the Saints and Red Wolves entered the game 0-1 on the season, looking for their first win. Holy Cross, however, took control of the match early and never looked back. 

The scoring began for the Saints in the 19th minute. Junior forward Isaac Filippo scored off an assist from sophomore midfielder Tristan Alfaro, marking the first goal and first assist of the season, respectively, for the duo. Not content to sit on one goal for long, Filippo struck again in the 24th minute from an assist by Isaac Contreras to put the Saints up 2-0.

Despite continued offensive pressure and three more shots on goal, the Saints failed to score again in the first half. The match remained 2-0 as the teams entered the intermission. 

The Saints stayed on the offensive coming out of the half, tallying four shots and three corner kicks before eventually capitalizing in the 68th minute. A goal from senior forward Gabe Nyenka — his first of the year — gave the Saints a commanding 3-0 lead. He was assisted by fellow forward Kevin Vidana, marking the junior's first assist of the season. 

The Saints offense would keep the heat turned up on the Red Wolves defense for the remainder of the game. Holy Cross tallied six more shots and three more corner kicks, although ultimately were unable to convert their opportunities. 

This was no issue, however, as they were able to ride their stellar defense for the remainder of the game. The Saints’ defense finished the match with 0 shots on goal allowed, and sophomore Isaias Rubio recorded his first clean sheet of the season. This led to a final score of 3-0 and a dominant performance on both sides of the ball from Holy Cross. 

With the triumph, the Saints get into the win column and move back to level on the season with a 1-1 record, while Indiana East still searches for their first victory, falling to 0-2. 

With their first win in the books, the Saints now look forward to their next matchup on Wednesday, Aug. 30th at Goshen College.

 

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