For the first time in program history, the Oglethorpe men’s soccer team clinched the regular season Southern Athletic Association (SAA) regular season title Sunday with a 6-0 victory over Hendrix in Conway, Ark.
The Stormy Petrels (BR-99) will now enjoy home-field advantage throughout the SAA playoffs, including the championship, should they make it.
The Petrels got off to a very fast start against Hendrix, picking up a pair of goals before 15 minutes were gone. Freshman midfielder Topher Marshall started the scoring in the 11th minute. Minutes later, senior midfielder Nick Muntean took a cross from Marshall and tallied his 10th goal of the year and a 2-0 lead.
The Petrels continued to pour it on as the first half wore on. Marshall picked up his second goal of the game and his fourth of the season in the 26th minute. Freshman forward Rodrigo Meade scored the first goal of his career in the 36th minute off an assist from sophomore defender Jonathan Guy.
Oglethorphe added two more goals in the second half from senior Martijn Edelman and freshman Ekow Annan.
Senior goalkeeper Vaughn Moore posted his fourth clean sheet of the season. He now has the best goals-against average in the league at 0.67 goals a game.
“We knew a championship was on the line,” said head coach Jon Akin on GoPetrels.com “Anytime you win a conference championship, be it regular season or tournament, it’s a special accomplishment. We’ll now get the opportunity to host the conference tournament, which is something we’ve never done before.”
The Petrels finished the SAA regular season with a 5-1-1 record and are 10-3-2 overall.
