The Tigers took to the pitch in another VIC clash against the Miller Mavericks out of Charlottesville on Wednesday afternoon. Getting off to a slow start, the Tigers were able to get it going in the second half for the 6-1 victory.
Opening the scoring on the evening, was center forward Paul Hughes (Danville, VA) off of a well placed through ball from fullback Jesse Vogg (Garner, NC) in the 25th minute to make it 1-0. The Tigers would take the 1-0 lead at the break and would open the scoring in the first 5 minutes of the second half; as Hughes found the his second goal of the day off a great punt from goalkeeper John Seepe in the 45th minute to make it 2-0 lead. “We came out a bit slow in the first half and were able to pick the pace up the second half,” stated Head Coach Jeremy Eubank.
Ten minutes later (55th minute) winger Kuan-Hisen Liu (Taiwan) scored off a perfectly placed through ball from center midfielder Gisa Rugema (Kigali, Rwanda) to make it 3-1. In the 60th minute Seepe was able to make a fabulous save on a penalty kick given away by the Tigers to keep it at 3-1. Off that save the Tigers responded as center forward Taylor Mills got his career goal off of a cross from Liu to make it 4-1. The Tigers were able to finish off the game with two unassisted goals from Jean-Luc Latry and center midfielder Ebrahim Al-Aghbari in the 63rd and 76th minute respectively for the 6-1 win.
“It was a good opportunity for us to mix and match player combinations and to work on some things for Friday’s matchup against St. Christopher’s,” said Eubank. “They are the defending state champions and I feel like we have a very good game plan going into it and if we are able to execute like we did today I feel confident we will do very well.”
The Tigers are participating in the Eastern Mennonite Soccer Classic this weekend at Harrisonburg on Friday and Saturday. Their first match will be on Friday, September 15 at 3 PM against at St. Christopher’s; if they win they will play at 11 AM on Saturday. If they lose they will play at 9 AM. Please stay tuned to and for updates on the games and times.
