We told you they’d be an exciting team to watch. Washington University’s men’s soccer started off the 2002 season “on the right foot,” winning its first two games in impressive fashion.
After a pair of dominating 4-0 shutouts against MacMurray College and Denison University this weekend, the Bears stand at a perfect 2-0 on the season and look like a real force to be reckoned with in the Division III soccer world.
Last Friday, the men’s club socked it to an overmatched MacMurray College team. The scoring for WU started early and it came often. The ball first found its way to the back of the net in the 21st minute off the foot of sophomore Matt Twardowski, with the assist going to sophomore Andrew Dennis.
The story of the game, however, was the play of senior team leader Mark Gister. Gister got loose for five shots, and he was very efficient with the two of them that were on goal, notching scores in the 56th and 61st minutes with assists from junior Steve Bujarski and sophomore Allen Gleckner, respectively. The first of his goals came on a header from about six yards out that found its way into the lower left corner of the goal.
6-foot-5 freshman Rob Weeks put the nail in the coffin by scoring the fourth and final goal in the 79th minute off an assist from fellow freshman Andrew Franklin.
Sophomore goalkeepers Jeremy Kaplan-Lyman and Colin Robinson had a slow day at the office as MacMurray took only two shots all game, neither of which required saves. By contrast, WU throttled up 17 total shots, eventually proving to be too much for the MacMurray keeper Jamie Gavilsky to withstand.
Sunday’s game had more of the same, as WU put up a barrage of 20 shots from 13 different players and squashed the Denison University squad by an identical 4-0 score.
Gister got the scoring started with his third goal of the young season in just the eighth minute of the game. The credit here really goes to Bujarski, whose strong shot was deflected by the keeper and then knocked in by Gister.
The man of the match, however, was sophomore super-sub Akil Marsh, who came off the bench in the 36th minute to assist goals in the 42nd and 68th minutes. Marsh then found the time to score one for himself in the 72nd minute.
The second goal of the match belonged to Bujarski, who finessed in his second score of the year on a bender from the left edge of the 18-yard box that just barely found its way over the keeper’s outstretched fingertips.
Freshman Sam Jacobs added the insurance goal in the 68th, and Marsh followed, adding insult to injury just four minutes later in the 72nd.
Goalkeeping time was split again, but this time between Kaplan-Lyman, who hauled in three saves, and senior Giles Bissonnette.
The back-to-back shutouts notched by the three-headed goalkeeping monster of Kaplan-Lyman, Robinson and Bissonnette underlies the depth possessed at every position on this season’s roster. On any given gameday, a familiar face like Gister could strike it rich, or a newcomer like Weeks could be the source of unexpected offensive bliss.
In soccer, though, not every game is going to be a four-goal blowout, and a strong defense along with a savvy midfield are the keys to possession, pacing and the setting up of key scoring opportunities. This is where the unsung heroes like Andrew Dennis, Nate Reller, and Mark Torres will look to make names for themselves in the WU midfield and backfield.
The Bears will undoubtedly face tougher challenges in their next two games, playing on the road in Sewanee, Tennessee against University of the South and then Rhodes College. For now, though, the high-octane offense is running on every cylinder, and so long as that’s the case, WU will keep running up victories in the win column.