BOX SCORE
RADFORD, Va. – Iyiola Awosika (London, England / Aylesbury Grammar) scored a pair of goals, Anthony Payne (Manassas, Va. / Osbourn Park) netted one of his own and set up two more as Radford cruised by Winthrop, 5-0, in Big South men's soccer action Saturday evening at Cupp Stadium.
”Tonight's win was a great result after a tough mid-week loss at High Point,” commented Radford head coach Marc Reeves.
The game's first goal came when Winthrop's (4-7-1, 2-3-0 Big South) keeper whiffed on a clear, leaving Awosika the ball at his feet and an open net.
Shortly after Awosika's 8th minute score, the Highlanders' goalkeeper Joey Dennis (Manassas, Va. / Osbourn Park) set up a strike with a long punt, which got by the defense, bounced high in the air to Payne, who headed home his first goal in a Radford (6-4-2, 4-1-0 Big South) uniform.
Radford's third goal of the opening half came just under nine minutes after its first when Payne played the ball to Awosika's, who dribbled into the box and drove a low ball past the diving Eagle keeper far post. It was Awosika's team-leading seventh goal of the year.
Already with a goal and assist to his credit, Payne also set up James Leith's (Herndon, Va. / Oakton) first goal of the season in the 35th minute to make it a 4-0 contest. The senior's blast from a tough angle came directly off a through ball from Camden Brown (Knoxville, Tenn. / Karns).
Just 30 seconds into the second half, the Highlanders extended their lead to 5-0 when Mike Handlin's (Opal, Va. / Liberty-Bealeton) long cross found the cutting Bernardo Ulmo (Sao Paulo, Brazil / South Kent) for his fourth score of 2010.
“I thought we scored some very good goals and defended well against a talented team,” Reeves said.
Brian Gwanzura (Harare, Zimbabwe / Harare) had a great chance to tack another goal on for Radford, but his header off a Ulmo set piece hit the cross bar.
Through four home contests, the Highlanders have outscored their opponents by a combined 12-1 margin.
Prior to tonight, Radford's last win over the Eagles came Oct. 13, 2004.
The Highlanders finished with a 14-11 advantage in shots and 3-1 edge in corners.
Radford returns to action Wednesday when it travels up I-81 for a 4 p.m. contest at league-foe VMI. The Eagles will step out of conference to entertain College of Charleston Oct. 19.
