Five different players scored as the Wilmington College men’s soccer team claimed the 2017 Wilmington Kiwanis Classic title with an 8-1 rout of UC-Clermont Saturday on Townsend Field at Williams Stadium.
Wilmington and Hanover both finished 2-0, but WC earned the championship thanks to its plus-14 goal differential.
“We were focused,” said Wilmington head coach Bud Lewis. “I thought if we played well, played with purpose, and didn’t have a letdown knowing we were playing a team that had been struggling – we would be able to create some really good scoring chances. We had some really good scoring chances early on and we just didn’t finish them. All of a sudden, bang, bang, bang, and then the first team was creating chances nearly every time they got possession. It would have been easy to letdown, particularly after the emotional game yesterday. I thought our guys focused, and it was good to see us put some goals together.”
Seven of Wilmington’s eight goals came in the first half with five different players finding the back of the net.
“We didn’t want to take UC-Clermont lightly, they have given teams some real competitive games, and we wanted to win this tournament,” said Lewis.
The Fightin’ Quakers seized control of the game midway through the first half, scoring three goals in less than a minute of action. A hand ball in the box led penalty kick by Niklas Martensson and then sophomore Roman Kirschner scored back-to-back goals.
Martensson joined Kirschner as a multiple goal scorer, tallying a marker in the 50th minute – making the score 8-0.
Junior Benny Spirk, junior Treshaun Pate and sophomore Gabriel Nygard all got in the scoring action. Wilmington’s other goal was an own goal.
Junior Daniel Kappelin finished with a career-high three assists.
The all-tournament team consisted of Jonah Rinear, Mamadou Fofano (UC-Clermont); Edwin Blanco, Austin Lewis (Wittenberg); Thomas Doerning and Will Bridgeman, Ian Waldrop (Hanover); and Benny Spirk, Chris Bourque, Roman Kirschner, Tommy Logan (Wilmington).
The Quakers (3-3-1) travels to Earlham 4 p.m. Wednesday for another meeting of the Quaker Cup Series. The Fightin’ Quakers currently hold a 2-0 lead in the annual rivalry.
