SPRINGFIELD – It was a complete team effort as the Missouri State men's soccer team (2-0-0) raced to a 4-0 win over Rockhurst in the team's second game of the season on Sunday night.
Both teams came out slow on the offensive attack at Allison South Stadium, trading strong defensive play for the first 19 minutes of the match. Midfielder Zac Newdick was the first to get things going for MSU, when the junior fired off a quick shot off an assist from Lewis Green. The ball found the back of the net to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.
The teams continued to grit out solid defensive performances for the rest of the half, with the Bears registering five more shots and the Hawks getting one look during 25 minutes of play.
Similar to Thursday night, the home team came out firing after the break when junior Jon Koka took advantage of an assist from Javier Martin-Gil to register his third goal of the season in two matches.
With 20 minutes left to play, Nicolo Mulatero got in on the action, as the 2020-21 Missouri Valley Conference leading scorer recorded his first goal of his senior campaign. A shot attempt from senior Josh Dolling turned into an assist instead, and Mulatero fired a dart into the left side of the net.
Missouri State controlled the final minutes of the match and sealed the shutout victory in the final two minutes of regulation when Greg Stratton pushed the score to 4-0 with help from Dolling and junior Kian Yari.
Sophomore Harry Townsend picked up a clean sheet for the Bears in his first-ever start in the net. He played a complete game and had four saves over 90 minutes.
"Great clean sheet in [Townsend's] first start, the back four supported him," assistant coach and former player Phil Woods said. "The communication was great, and Harry took a lot of the things we've been working on in training, so that was awesome."
MSU held the advantage in shots (20-6) and shots on goal (8-4), while Adrian Barosen led the team in shots with three on the night. Dolling had a team-high two assists.
"Good team effort, first and foremost. Doing the simple things right, taking care of business and hopefully getting ready for the next game," Woods continued.
With the win, the Bears improve to 2-0 on the season for the third straight year.
The Bears (2-0-0) travel to Tulsa on Friday night for the first road match of the regular season against the Golden Hurricane (1-0-0). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on Sept. 3 and will broadcast on ESPN+.
