Late goal flurry help Pride run away with 5-0 win at Culver-Stockton

CANTON, Mo. - Dropping their last three Heart of America Athletic Conference games, the Clarke Univeristy men's soccer team got back in the win column with a 5-0 road win against Culver-Stockton College on Wednesday night.

The first three goals for the Pride were scored about 40 minutes of game time apart each as the third goal then the final two would all be scored in the final seven minutes of the game with the last two goals coming in the final minute of the game.

Alfonso Gonzalez would put CU up early in the seventh minute as Kenshin Yasujima found space on the left wing and would cross the ball on the ground to an open area in the middle of the field where two members of the pride could have ran onto it but it was Gonzalez who fired a strike from right inside the top of the 18-yard box to make it 1-0 Clarke.

That would remain ths score going into halftime before Alvaro Martinez would steal a pass in the Clarke offensive end, dribble by two defenders and rip a shot into the top corner of the net to double the lead in the 49th minute.

With the Wildcats pushing the issue under eight minutes to go in the game, a turnover around midfield would send the Pride on a counter attack where Hector Medrano would take a shot from the right side to be saved by CSC keeper Tom Freear but the ball would fall right to Donovan Lowe as the freshman would redirect the ball in midair into the net to put the game on ice.

Despite Clarke securing the win on their third goal, Luke Persenico and Eikichi Saito would add to the lead in the 90th minute with Persenico scoring off of a set piece from Xzavier Campa that was first headed by Lowe where Persenico would run under it to head it in for his seventh of the season. Saito scored with just under 10 seconds remaining on a nice Pride rush where Daniel Valverde would find Saito open in the box for his second goal of the year.

Making three saves in 90 minutes Clarke goalie Philipp Kohle would record his second shutout in three starts as this would mark Kohle's lowest save total in those three starts as the Pride controlled play for a majority of the game, outshooting Culver-Stockton 32-9.

Pride men's soccer will return to Burrows Field for a 7:30 p.m. CT scheduled kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 5 when they host Baker University.