The Virginia Wesleyan University men's soccer team (2-0-1) earned a 2-1 victory over Redlands (1-2-0) on Saturday evening at Foster Field at the Tassos Paphitis Soccer Complex.
The Marlins were led offensively by
Zach Bittler and
Cowen Napior, while
Daniel Otlowski,
Gio Zizza, and
JaMarhe Wills each added assists in the win. Goalkeeper
Ben Haynes played the full 90 minutes in net, earning the victory to improve to 2-0-1 on the season.
Virginia Wesleyan opened the match with a quick start. Bittler scored his third goal of the season just 94 seconds into play, finishing a setup from Otlowski and Zizza to give the Marlins an early lead. Redlands answered in the 11th minute to even the score, and the two sides battled through a physical opening half, entering halftime tied 1-1.
VWU broke the tie when Napior buried his first goal of the year, assisted by Bittler and Wills. Redlands pressured with three corner kicks after the break, but the Marlins' back line held strong and limited the visitors to just two shots in the final 45 minutes. Offensively, VWU continued to generate chances, out shooting Redlands 13-6 overall, including a commanding 9-1 edge in shots on target. Despite a slight corner kick disadvantage (5-6), the Marlins maintained control and preserved the win.
The Marlins return to action on
Sunday, September 7, at 2:00 p.m., when they host William Paterson University at Foster Field at the Tassos Paphitis Soccer Complex in Virginia Beach.
