Box Score CINCINNATI, Ohio - Your Mount St. Joseph University Lions welcomed the Spartans of Manchester to Schueler Field on Saturday afternoon. The conference home opener for the Lions did not disappoint, as the Lions scored 4 goals en route to a 4-2 victory over the Spartans.
The Lions got started early putting together an early 3-0 lead in the first half. To start, the Lions got on the board off a cross from
Willis Johnson (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) who found the foot of
Taidan Fox (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills) who volleyed the ball into the top half of the net to give the Lions a 1-0 lead in just the 6th minute.
Just 8 minutes later the Lions would strike again! This time the Spartans goalkeeper would be penalized with a yellow card after fouling
Willis Johnson inside the box to set up a penalty kick.
David Crosby (Richmond, Ky./Model Labratory) would be called on to take the kick and snuck the ball into the bottom left hand corner of the net lifting the Lions lead to 2-0.
The Lions weren't done yet though as they scored quickly once again just 3 minutes later. In the 17th minute
Luis Martinez Velez (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Cupeyville) would join the party and score off a long pass from
Justin Ives (Florence, Ky./St. Henry) to give the Lions a commanding 3-0 lead. The Spartans would get one back in the 25th minute shortening the Lions lead to 3-1 before halftime.
After halftime the Lions would concede almost immediately in the 46th minute of play trimming the Lion lead to just one. But, the Lions offensive explosion wasn't over.
Taidan Fox scored for the second time in this match for his team-leading 5th goal of the season off a pass from Samuel MccAlister (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle). This would push the Lions lead back to two in the 52nd minute of play.
Following Fox's second goal the Lions defense stepped up. The Lions stout defense only allowed 2 shots following the goal en route to a 4-2 victory. Lions goalkeeper
Matthew Hibbard (Cleves, Ohio/Taylor) had a great game in between the pipes. Hibbard stopped 8 of 10 shots on target and helped the Lions earn their first HCAC victory of the season.
UP NEXT: Your Mount St. Joseph Lions travel to Bluffton, Ohio to take on the Beavers of Bluffton University on Wednesday, October 6th. Kickoff is set to begin at 3:30pm. Please continue to tune into msjlions.com for coverage of your MSJ Men's Soccer team and all MSJ Athletics.
