Hamilton, Ont. - The McMaster men's soccer team earned their first win of the 2011 soccer season with a win over the Windsor Lancers by a score of 2-1. Marauders Gersi Xhuti (Etobicoke, Ont.) and Abraham James (Mississauga, Ont.) were the goal scorers for McMaster.
In the first half of the match, both teams competed for that all important first goal but did not come through. The Lancer defence continued to shut down Marauder forward Mark Reilly (Hamilton, Ont.), while the McMaster defence took possession in the back field. Minimal opportunities arose for either team in the first while the goal keepers had yet to be tested. Both teams went into the second half scoreless.
Six minutes into the second half, the scoring was finally opened. Lancer Michael Pio (Windsor, Ont.) put the ball in the back of the net in a scramble in the box. In the 51st minute, the score was now 1-0 for the visiting team.
The Marauders pushed back hard after the first goal of the match and in the 53rd minute responded to the Windsor goal by scoring one of their own. Forward Xhuti earned the first Marauder goal of the season with a scramble in front of the net. The Windsor goal keeper had no chance.
All tied up at one, both teams continued to take possession back and forth to score another one for the win. In the 59th minute, less than ten minutes after the first goal of the match was scored, rookie defenceman James scored his first goal as a Marauder with a header off a McMaster cornerkick.
Windsor would do their best to put on the pressure to tie the score up but McMaster would not allow it, earning the win in the Marauder home opener for the 2011 soccer season. The Marauders face the Western Mustangs Sunday afternoon in hopes of going undefeated after two matches.
