The Missouri Military Academy Colonels avenged their lone loss of the season with a convincing 4-0 blanking of Kirksville on the Tigers’ home field Monday night.
“We played a very good first half, scoring three goals,” said MMA head coach Capt. Ali Syed. “Our midfielders created plenty of opportunities for the forwards, but we couldn't cash in on all of them.
“I am pleased with our performance today, especially after losing to Kirksville before (2-1 in penalty kicks after double overtime in the first round of the Moberly Invitational). I think our boys came out strong, wanting to dominate possession and playing good, clean soccer.
Juan Pablo De Esesarte, Zach Gustafson, Ricardo Ruvalcaba and Thomas Williams each scored for MMA, while Sung Chan (Daniel) Lee added two key assist passes.
“Our aerial game needs improvement, and we will work on that in the next few practices,” said Capt. Syed. “We have a very tough match against St. Paul Lutheran on Saturday, and they are a state-ranked team. We need to have a very balanced attack against them, and our team realizes that.”
The 6-1 Colonels’ defense played another solid game, earning goalkeeper Aldo Sanchez his fifth shutout of the fall, led by Devin Lang, Williams and Roman Cepeda.
Kirksville won the JV game 2-1, handing Capt. Ousseynou Samb’s squad its first loss against two victories. Jeffrey Rider scored for MMA.