CLEVELAND, Miss. (October 31, 2021) – The Spring Hill College (SHC) men's soccer team picked up their 10
th win of the year and helped their postseason positioning by taking a 4-0 Gulf South Conference (GSC) victory over the Delta State University (DSU) Statesmen on Sunday afternoon at Delta Field.
SHC got the scoring going early against the Statesmen (4-8-2; 2-7-1 GSC) when senior
Matthew Moreno drove in a goal in the 5
th minute of play with an assist from sophomore midfielder
Joao Amaral. Freshman forward
Paolo Hortian then made it a 2-0 Badger advantage off an entry pass from fellow freshman forward
Carlos Fernandes.
In the 63
rd minute, freshman defenseman
Brogan Horniman cemented the victory with his second score of the year off an assisting combination by Amaral and senior forward
Luca Carrese. Later, Hortian would earn a brace with his second goal of the contest in the 77
th minute.
Badger senior goalkeeper
Alessandro Erdelyi (10-6) made two saves against three shots and five corner kicks by the Statesmen while Delta State's Mattis Kloepper (3-7-2) made one save versus 14 shots and nine corner attempts from SHC.
Fabian Keiblinger finished the final 12 minutes in goal for Spring Hill, facing just one off-fame shot attempt.
After the match, SHC head coach
Chris Leonardi praised his team's effort. "Today was a professional performance from the boys," he said. "They knew what we did wrong on Friday and wanted to rectify the problems. For us to get into the tournament with this result is the product of the whole season. Winning five games in the GSC is not easy and I am delighted for the boys. Some good teams will miss the tournament, and we are thrilled to get to play next Sunday."
The Badgers (10-6; 5-5 GSC) will wrap up the 2021 regular season with a GSC match versus rival the University of West Florida (UWF) Argonauts at home on Library Field on Thursday at 1 p.m. With SHC currently in 6
th position and UWF at 5
th in the GSC standings, Thursday's contest is crucial for both teams in regard to seeding for the Conference Championship Tournament that begins on Sunday, November 7.
