Men's Soccer blanks Wasps for fourth consecutive shutout

SALISBURY, N.C. – The Catawba College men's soccer shut out Emory & Henry, 2-0, to mark its fourth straight blanking and completing a Homecoming sweep for the Catawba soccer programs.

TEAM STATS

- The Catawba Indians' (4-3-5, 3-2-3 SAC) offense battered Emory & Henry (0-9-1, 0-7 SAC), shooting 34 times with 14 on-net attempts while the Wasps put their lone two shots on goal

- The nation's 11th-best team in the corner kicks department earned a staggering 18 opportunities, giving up none to the Wasps

- E&H committed four less fouls, being whistled 10 times to Catawba's 14, as the hosts received the contest's lone yellow card

- Catawba used a lineup's worth of substitutions, outnumbering the Wasps 12-6

- The possession battle was won soundly by the Catawba Indians who controlled the rock for 63 percent of the match

INDIVIDUAL STATS

- Bautista Vecchi-Ramello extended his team scoring lead, netting the fifth dart of his sophomore season while Joe Bennett collected his first goal of the year

- Assists were credited to Salano Birch and Greg Chatzopoulos, giving the Greek freshman his first career point

- Sebastia Cerda-Tous paced Catawba in shots with seven, directing three on net, followed by Vecchi-Ramello and Birch with five apiece

- Zak Stiffler bagged his second straight shutout win with two saves, marking the 15th clean sheet and 23rd victory of his career

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half

- Early opportunities for Catawba were spurned by E&H as the Wasps saved the contest's initial shot from Birch and blocked an attempt by Vecchi-Ramello

- Following five more unsuccessful Catawba shots that produced two saves by Wasp keeper Emilio Hernandez-Araujo, the blue and white switched out forwards and midfielders in hopes of generating more fruitful offense

- Tomas Kelly and Hugo Tejera came up empty on their shots stemming from a free kick

- Catawba's four corners in the final 5:16 were broken up, sending the match to halftime with no score

Second Half

- The hosts came out of the break with an immediate bombardment of shots featuring two on-goal attempts by Cerda-Tous and Tino Lira

- E&H received its first shot of the night in the 55th minute from Gabe Franco on a free kick

- Continued knocks on the door finally paid off when Chatzopoulos headed a 66th-minute corner kick to the near post, hitting an open Vecchi-Ramello who delivered the go-ahead strike

- It took less than two minutes for Catawba to find the twine again as a downfield surge saw Lira finish a long run by Birch, extending the gap to 2-0

- The Wasps were suppressed for the rest of the contest by an unrelenting Catawba squad to finalize a shutout at Frock Field

UP NEXT

Catawba continues its homestand on Tuesday, Oct. 22 in a non-conference fixture against Virginia State at 7 p.m.