ALAMOSA, Colo. – Max Edwards scored three goals in a span of just over 13 minutes, and the Westminster men's soccer team scored five second-half goals to beat Adams State 5-2 on Sunday morning. The Griffins out-shot the Grizzlies 36-4, with 16 shots on goal to Adams State's three.
Game Breakdown
First Half
Westminster controlled the first half, out-shooting Adams State 19-2 and earning five corner kicks to the Grizzlies' none. The Griffins went to work immediately. Parker Stebbing tested Adams State goalkeeper Bryan Amezcua at 2:11, and the Griffins earned corner kicks at 2:19 and 4:14.
Amezcua made five saves in the half, denying Stebbing (2:11 and 22:43), Cam Neeley (28:20), Spencer Lords (30:48), and Edwards (37:02). Oliver Olsen made a save of his own at 16:16 on a shot from Kaidin Reese. Adams State got on the board at 25:07, when Reese converted a penalty kick to make it 1-0. The Griffins kept pushing through the rest of the half, but the Grizzlies led 1-0 at the break.
Second Half
Westminster kept the pressure on after the restart, and Amezcua made six second-half saves, including two on Owen Gallo at 54:10 and 54:38 and one on Broc Underhill at 61:18. The breakthrough came at 62:25, when Edwards, who returned to the match at 58:08, converted a penalty kick to tie the match at 1-1. He gave Westminster the lead at 67:46 with an unassisted goal for a 2-1 advantage. He completed the hat trick at 75:42, finishing off an assist from Jack Epstein to make it 3-1.
Gage Wood extended the lead to 4-1 at 78:34, scoring off an Owen Gallo assist. Hector Herrera answered for Adams State 20 seconds later at 78:54 to make it 4-2. Westminster put the match away at 88:18, when Epstein scored his first goal of the season off a Ben Kump assist for the 5-2 final.
Westminster out-shot Adams State 17-2 in the second half and finished with a 10-0 advantage in corner kicks for the match.
Griffin Performances
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Max Edwards scored three goals, two of them from open play, on seven shots, four on target, in just 29 minutes, taking his season total to five
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Jack Epstein recorded a goal and an assist, his first goal of the season, in 44 minutes
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Owen Gallo recorded an assist on Wood's goal and fired five shots, three on target
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Gage Wood scored his second goal of the season, with one of his two shots on target
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Parker Stebbing put all four of his shots on target in 90 minutes
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Ben Kump set up Epstein's goal with an assist
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Oliver Olsen earned the win in goal, making one save over 90 minutes
Final Stats
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Shots: Westminster 36, Adams State 4
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Shots on Goal: Westminster 16, Adams State 3
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Corner Kicks: Westminster 10, Adams State 0
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Fouls: Adams State 11, Westminster 6
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Saves: Westminster 1 (Olsen), Adams State 11 (Amezcua)
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Offsides: Westminster 1, Adams State 0
With the win, Westminster improves to 3-5-4 overall and 1-2-1 in RMAC play, while Adams State falls to 1-8-1 overall and 0-4-0 in conference play.
Up Next
Westminster returns home to host Colorado School of Mines on Thursday.
