9/11/26 - 9/12/26
The Sentinels match up for a double victory
The Sentinel men’s soccer team had a busy weekend, playing The Crown College and Appalachian Bible College round-robin style, hosted by Appalachian Bible College.
In their first matchup, the Sentinels faced off against The Crown College for a massive victory where they won 5-1.
Freshman Johnathan Hartman started the game off strong with a set piece shot from just outside of the box after a Crown foul on Freshman Zane Wirkkala. Hartman took the shot as soon as the referee signaled, catching the Crown defense off guard for an easy hit. Hartman scored the Sentinel’s second goal as well, capitalizing on another foul on Wirkkala in the box. Hartman set up for the penalty kick and hit the upper right corner.
Freshman Zane Wirkkala found the back of the net next, making a run off of a long ball sent by Junior Aidan Hartman. Wirkkala beat two defenders on a dribble, drew the keeper out, and hit the ball into the upper right corner.
In the second half, Wirkkala scored his second goal off of a failed defensive clearance from Crown and a solid return pass from Junior Aidan Hartman. Wirkkala took one touch outside of his defender and shot into the bottom right corner.
Senior Isaac Bedrosian finalized the score by receiving a defensive clearance by Freshman Levi Gruner and dribbling from half field to hit a low ball underneath Crown’s keeper.
The Crown College put themselves on the board with a long ball into the top of the net near the beginning of the second half, but that goal was not enough to fight back against the attacking power of the Sentinel’s offence.
On Saturday, the Sentinels faced Appalachian Bible College. The Sentinels dominated this game with clean touches and simple fundamentals leading to most of the play occurring in the opposition half.
Freshman Johnathan Hartman scored his third goal of the weekend off of a failed defensive clearance in the box after Freshman Zane Wirkkala and Senior Josh Meyers both had blocked chances at the goal.
Freshman Oliver Boden scored his first college career goal, crashing the net after a shot from Senior Isaac Bedrosian bounced off the goalpost, bringing the Sentinels to a 2-0 win.
With both these wins, the Sentinels return home to an overall season record of 2-3-0. Head Coach Marius Du Plessis stated that the men “put into play [this weekend] what we have been working on in practice all season” and that the men’s Sentinels look forward to carrying the lessons and “momentum from these games into the rest of the season”. Captain Josh Meyers seconded Coach Du Plessis and added that this weekend was the men’s first time using a new formation and that they executed it quite well.
The Sentinel men’s soccer team returns to action on September 18th, hoping to improve that record when they travel to Media, PA, to face off in a 4 p.m. match against Williamson College of the Trades. The men also match up against Carroll Community College in a 4 p.m. home game on Saturday, September 19th.
Heidi Otis
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