MONMOUTH, Ill. – Cornell's men's soccer team broke into the win column in convincing fashion with a 6-0 shutout over Midwest Conference foe Monmouth on a raining Thursday afternoon at Peacock Memorial Athletic Park.
The Rams (1-8-3 overall, 1-3-2 MWC) dominated throughout and celebrated their most lopsided conference win in coach
Nate Grosse's 13 seasons at the helm. The six goals are the second-most scored by any team in an MWC match this fall.
Sophomore
Kyriacos Photiou led the onslaught with Cornell's final three goals for his first collegiate hat trick. Photiou's big day included a first-half assist.
Senior
Fox Wight scored twice and
Tadhg Thompson netted one goal for the Rams, who built a commanding 4-0 lead by intermission.
Thompson got the Rams going with a goal in the 11th minute. Wight followed suit with back-to-back goals during a six-minute stretch midway through the first half. Only 16 seconds after Wight's second score, Photiou found the back of the net to give Cornell a 4-0 cushion at the 26-minute mark.
Photiou converted a penalty kick – his second of the season – in the 50th minute and delivered his final goal in the 71st minute. He raised his season goal total to seven, fifth-most in the MWC.
Thompson and
Javier Andrade-Martinez collected one assist apiece for the Rams, who outshot Monmouth (0-13 overall, 0-6 MWC) by a 16-5 margin.
Kian Farrell went the distance in goal for the Rams and finished with two saves. It was the team's first shutout of the season.
Coming up – The Rams carry momentum into Saturday's 12 p.m. home match with second-place Illinois College (6-2-4 overall, 3-0-3 MWC).
