TMU Men's Soccer earns first win of campaign in shutout fashion

TMU Men's Soccer picked up its first victory of the 2021 season with a 1-0 shutout victory over visiting Eastern Oregon on Thursday afternoon.
 
"I'm excited to see some reward for our hard work," Master's Head Coach Jim Rickard said. "The guys have been very resilient and have responded to what we have asked. I'm hoping to continue to improve and make strides on both sides of the game."
 
The Mustangs were rewarded for their bright start with a wonder goal from forward Giorgio Martino in the 20th minute. The Genova, Italy native collected the ball on the left wing, beat his defender and curled a ball up and over the goalkeeper from the side of the 18-yard box.
 
"It was nice to get an amazing goal early in the game from Giorgio," Rickard said. "Getting a lead is helpful."
 
Jonathan Lengkey almost scored a stunning side volley from the top of the 18-yard box, but his knuckling strike dipped just over the crossbar.
 
Martino then had an excellent opportunity to double TMU's lead off an inch-perfect cross from Lengkey, but his volley went wide.
 
Caden Zierenberg later appeared to open up his account in a Mustang uniform off a direct free kick, but the center referee called it back because the shot took place before he blew his whistle.
 
TMU outshot Eastern Oregon 11-3 in the first half, but only managed the one goal to show for it.
 
The Mustangs then had a glorious opportunity to add to its lead when Corny Miller was sent through on goal just five minutes into the second half, but he pulled his shot wide.
 
TMU's defense continued to limit the Mountaineers attack until late in the second half, Kian Bensend came up with an acrobatic one-handed save with his top hand to preserve the shutout.
 
"The entire team played defense with a lot of grit today and the coaching staff was very proud of them," Rickard said. "Now we can take some momentum going into Saturday's game."
 
Master's (1-2 overall) is set to return to Reese Field on Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. match against University of Saint Katherine. Watch the match live at GoMustangs.com/watch or follow the live stats at: https://naiastats.prestosports.com/sports/msoc/2021-22/boxscores/20210904_t7e4.xml